Silver and Gold
by VitameatavegaminGirl
Summary: What if Hirato had never found Yogi? What if, instead, Yogi assimilated Silver and escaped on his own? Gareki is very OOC. Silver and gold Yogi. Please review! :) (Title photo is from Zerochan. The artist is Dove. She/he is amazing!)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there! Thank you for clicking on this story! I hope you enjoy it.**

 **I tend to work on this when I get bored of** ** _Niji Meets Neko_** **(my other fanfic). It is simply for fun, so if you don't like what I'm doing...I apologize, but I, respectfully, refuse to change or stop. Oh, and before I forget, there are parts in this that are taken directly from the manga. I think Gareki has a few exact lines and I know Hirato has multiple. Just a warning to fans of the manga who try to yell 'FOUL!'.**

 **(One more thing, in this story there aren't two Circus ships. Just one. It would be a little difficult for me to deal with two sparsely manned ships. So I decided to combine them. Every crew member is present but they are all part of "Circus' Ship" as I will (or rather should) be calling it from now on.)**

 **Reviews are always appreciated and helpful.**

 **Now then...I present, Chapter 1: Little Brother**

"NO, PLEASE! I'M BEGGING YOU, DON-"

 _SHLUCK_

 _THUD_

The tall young man ripped his epee from the now dead gangster. He glared coldly at the dead body, "Your first mistake was underestimating my abilities, your second was trying to trick me, and your last mistake was threatening my little brother. For that you deserve much worse than what I gave you," he narrowed his reddish-violet eyes and stomped on the corpse. He ground down his heel and began to giggle; it then changed to cackling, finally morphing into insanely gleeful howling.

When he was done he proceeded to roughly wipe off blood that had splattered on his face. As he removed his hand a cool breeze blew through the broken-down building, swishing the man's unruly blonde and silver hair into his face. He irritably brushed it aside. While the sun rose over the distant mountains, the man walked away, leaving the headless corpse to rot where it lay.

Ӂ-Ӂ-Ӂ

"NII-CHAN! HELP! NOW!" The shouting boy looked like he was in a very pretty pickle. He had been attempting to move a bunch of boxes to be able to clean under them, but he hadn't anticipated how heavy they were and thus had taken one too many. Because of his error, he had started to tip over backwards under their weight. Luckily, 'Nii-chan' caught him before he landed on his backside crushed beneath his burden.

"Mou, Gareki-kun! How many times do I have to tell you to think before you try something you doubt you can handle?" The man was holding Gareki up from behind, all the while frowning worriedly at his upside down face.

"Sorry, Nii-chan," the boy stuck his tongue out slightly at the man, "I thought they were lighter than this. Guess I miscalculated a bit, hehe." He gave a sheepish laugh before blinking his eyes innocently. He knew his brother didn't stand a chance against him once he began acting sweet. The next minute, as Gareki had anticipated, the older man gave a defeated sigh, lifted the boy up till he could stand up again, set the boxes down for him, and gave his little brother a bone-crunching hug while squealing about how cute he was. Gareki chuckled to himself. Whenever anyone besides his brother attempted to be so familiar with him, he always beat them off harshly. No one was even able to touch him without getting kicked across the room.

After about five minutes of patient endurance, Gareki started to tire of the affection and praise. He wriggled a little in the other's grasp, indicating that he wanted to be let go. 'Nii-chan' understood the gesture and, reluctantly, released his beloved little brother. He smiled brilliantly at the younger boy, before skipping away happily. Gareki shook his head in amusement and went back to work arranging the boxes so he could clean without having to push them around. This time around, however, he decided to pick them up one by one instead of all at once. This was much more tiring than before and he eventually began to feel drowsy. So when 'Nii-chan' came back a few hours later he found that the teenager had fallen asleep while leaning against one of the boxes. He laughed quietly and after carefully picking him up, the older brother carried Gareki to his room and lay him down on the bed. 'Nii-chan' had figured that the boy was going to fall asleep sooner or later; it was already past midnight and they had gotten up early. He gently brushed the boy's dark hair off his face, slowly removed the black goggles that rested upon his head and smiled sweetly at the sleeping youth.

"Sleep well, Gareki-kun," he stepped back silently, "I'll see you in the morning! " The blonde/silver-haired man closed the door behind him and walked into the living room. It was covered in blueprints and plans. He chuckled to himself. _That boy has done it again. I can't believe it only took him a few hours to finish this up. He really is a genius. I suppose we'll see how well he actually did tomorrow. I can't wait!_ The man began to skip around the room in excitement.

Eventually, he grew tired of the action and decided it was time for him to go to bed as well. They had a big day tomorrow, might as well get as much rest as possible. As he pranced to his own room he hummed a silly little song (to be honest it sounded more like a poem, but he didn't really care too much about what to call it). It went something like this, "Filled with the power of man's spirit! I'm the sparkling prince who makes your heart throb! Yogi-sama is here to stay!" He repeated this a few times and nodded his head to the nonexistent beat. He was incredibly excited for tomorrow. He couldn't wait to try out Gareki's plan. Yogi grinned. His blood was already boiling with anticipation. Mine- _sama_ wouldn't know what hit her…

Ӂ-Ӂ-Ӂ

The next day at around 10 PM, the two brothers initiated Gareki's brilliant plan. Their target was a nasty woman named Mine. She thought of herself as some kind of queen and loved to order people about, plus there had been rumors flying around of her possessing magical powers. While Gareki didn't believe the rumors, he did like to be cautious so he planned out the whole thing while making sure they never actually went into her domain. Everything took place outside where the trucks carrying her newly acquired treasures arrived. Gareki would blow out the tires, Yogi would knock out the guards, and they would escape with the loot. It was simple yet beautiful.

As they waited for the trucks to show up, their bodies began to twitch with eagerness. This was going to be a huge job and they couldn't wait to pull it off. Finally, after what seemed to be hours for the two males (in reality they were only waiting for thirty minutes), the caravan came rolling up the hill leading to Mine's mansion.

Gareki whipped out his guns and took careful aim at the first truck. He breathed out slowly and fired two shots, then another two, and another. Finally he inhaled and fired two more into the tires of the last automobile. Yogi patted him on the back with a smile (which was cheekily returned), and set off to play his role. When he was finished dealing with the drivers and guards, he motioned to Gareki and together they began to search the trucks for any valuables.

When they got to the last truck they found something different. In all the previous vehicles they only ever found material goods, such as gems, gold, expensive fabric and so on. After opening this one, though, they were met with a frightened shriek. The startled thieves pulled back and looked at each other in bafflement. _A shriek?_ They thought simultaneously. Slowly, Gareki poked his head back into the van. What he saw shocked him into silence. Lying in the middle of the truck, trussed up like an animal, was a young boy, no older than twelve. Even though it was dark, Gareki could still tell that the boy was very pale and had light hair that came together in points at either side of his head. He was trembling in fright and the tears that had welled up in his eyes when they burst in finally spilled over, streaking his slightly dirty face with glistening lines. The child skootched back as far as he could and cowered when he bumped into the other side of his prison.

Gareki raised his eyebrows. _A slave? Mine's in the slave trade now? Dang, he looks young too! That witch…I hope she gets caught and killed…tortured if possible. Poor thing, he looks terrified._ The dark-haired boy's heart went out to the child. If Yogi hadn't found him he would probably be in a similar situation. He swore under his breath.

"Shh…it's okay," Gareki whispered gently to the shivering boy, "We aren't going to hurt you, I promise."

He climbed into the truck and crept towards him slowly. The boy stopped whimpering when Gareki spoke. As the older boy came closer, the younger stilled and looked at him, eyes fearful yet curious. Gareki smiled softly at the child and cut his binds. The pale boy rubbed his wrists before giving his savior a grateful grin. Said 'savior' held out a hand to the other, which was taken without any hesitation. Gareki led the boy back to Yogi, who was still waiting at the truck's tailgate. Yogi started a bit when his little brother came back with a pale young boy in tow.

"Gareki-kun, who is this?" The blonde/silver-haired man asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No idea…he was tied up. I'm guessing he's a slave Mine bought to play with," Gareki jumped down and held out his arms to the child. The little one hopped off the truck, into Gareki's grasp. He wrapped his own arms around the older boy's neck and snuggled into his safe hold. The dark-haired boy looked a little surprised, but allowed the action. He knew how frightened the child must be so he let him rest knowing he was finally safe.

Yogi chuckled. He was glad Gareki seemed to like the child, yet he was a little too clingy for Yogi's taste (even though _Gareki_ was the one being touched, Yogi must have been felling a tad bit…over-protective). The man tapped his brother's arm and muttered quietly, "We'd better get going. Mine might send someone out when these trucks don't show up." Gareki glanced at him and nodded. He patted his passenger's back and whispered reassuringly to him.

The brothers, plus one, carried the loot they had acquired from the other trucks away from the scene of the crime. After covering a few miles of terrain, they reached the train station; planning to use it as an escape route. They had purchased tickets beforehand (Gareki even thought to have bags ready so they wouldn't have to carry their booty out in the open) but they hadn't planned on taking another person with them so Yogi bought another ticket while Gareki packed the bags. The pale little boy stood off to the side (close to Gareki but far enough to not be in the way) and watched them work.

"Oi, brat!" the teen called to his little shadow, "What's your name? I'm Gareki and that," he pointed at his big brother, "is my nii-san, Yogi."

"M-my name is N-nai," the boy paused fidgeting a bit, "Th-thank you for s-saving me…" he trailed off, feeling more than a little intrusive.

A flicker of a smile flitted across the dark-haired boy's face. He stood up and held out an arm to the uncomfortable child. Nai brightened, stepped quickly towards the out-stretched hand, took it, and beamed up at Gareki. The older boy smiled crookedly at him and ruffled Nai's pure white hair (which, Gareki noted with curiosity, had bits of purple coloring the ends of the points). The boy practically purred in happiness. It had been a long time since he had felt this safe and content.

"Gareki-kun," Yogi interrupted the sweet scene with a slight sense of urgency, "the next train is leaving really soon. We should get ready to go." Gareki looked at him and nodded. The three of them picked up the bags of treasures (Nai having the least to hold, Yogi, the most) and marched over to the waiting train.

Ӂ-Ӂ-Ӂ

An hour or so after they boarded the train Nai fell asleep on Gareki's shoulder while the brothers talked about what their next move should be. A half-hour after that he shot up and looked around, blinking and confused.

"What's wrong, Nai-chan?" Yogi asked in concern.

"I heard something," the boy replied, "It came from the roof."

Gareki looked up to the place where Nai pointed. He hadn't heard anything, nor did he see anything when he looked up. At least not at first. A full minute passed before something happened. Unfortunately, what occurred wasn't exactly…expected. A nicely dressed man, with dark hair and glasses, came bursting through the ceiling of the car they were in. He was followed closely by a younger girl, who had blonde hair and a kind of ballerina-like outfit. Yogi and Gareki stared at the couple in shock for about…twenty…maybe forty seconds (they were _very_ surprised), before flying into action.

Gareki jumped up, whipped out his gun and took aim at them. Yogi also leapt up, but he, instead of getting into an attack position, gently grabbed onto Nai and crouched close to the ground, folding the child into his body.

"Who are yo-"

 _THWUMP_

"Hmph…they have a child like this as a lookout…hm?" The dark-haired man (who had just kneed Gareki in the stomach) noticed a piece of paper sticking out of his pocket. It was a boarding pass.

"Oops! Sorry kid…I didn't know you were a passeng-"

"GAREKI-KUN!" A shout that could have woken the dead arose from the boy's brother (who had looked up in time to see the teen go down). He set Nai on the seat in front of him and turned, burning with an unrivaled fury at the sight of his precious little brother's pain. His eyes narrowed to slits and he hissed angrily at the man standing over Gareki. The man blinked a few times; he had never heard a person make such a noise. Cats, yes, but a person? Not quite as usual.

 _"_ _*cough* *cough*_ Yogi, I'm alright _*cough*_ ," Gareki pushed himself off the ground and put a hand on Yogi's arm, "I'm good…it's okay." He was desperate to calm his brother. The dark-haired man raised an eyebrow at the boy's tone of voice. Although he didn't feel too bothered by the blonde/silver-haired man's frustration, he was interested in the boy he had attacked; any normal person would have passed out after a blow like that.

Any further discussion about Gareki's stunning tolerance was put on hold when two men burst into the car, shouting something about them being there to help the CEO…whoever that is. The dark-haired man made quick work of them. Seeming to remember something, he walked off dragging the two stunned men behind him.

"This is going to be more frustrating than you anticipated, isn't it Gareki-kun?" Yogi growled. He was still peeved that the dark-haired man hurt his little brother.

"Yeah...kinda," the boy rubbed a hand over his sore abdomen, "Do you wanna go after him?"

"Might as well," Yogi looked back at Nai. The young child was curled up on the ground, staring up at him with wide eyes. He patted the boy's head, "It's okay Nai. Everything is going to be fine." He hoped he sounded reassuring. In his mind he was thinking of different ways to torture the dark-haired man without killing him; he was up to about four-hundred (he couldn't wait to put some of them into action).

The three males followed after the two well-dressed people. They eventually reached a car that sounded like there were people in it. Yogi waved Nai and Gareki back while he took a peek. He raised his eyebrows in surprise at what he saw. The man and girl had been tied up and there were guns pointed at them and another two people. One was an old man; the other was a young girl with loosely braided pink hair. Yogi looked for a while longer before bending back down and explained the situation to Gareki. The teen nodded and was about to head back, when Nai jumped up, opened the door and walked in.

Both of the older two leapt to their feet and tackled the child to the ground, just in time to avoid the bullets that whizzed over their heads. They simultaneously growled, "Stay down, you idiot!" at the ignorant little boy. This small distraction was all the dark-haired man needed to swipe the guns out of the criminal's hands and onto the floor.

"You should just give up," the man stared coldly at the fallen men, "Becoming vigilantes to fulfill your own vendetta is a ridiculous act of folly."

One of the hijackers shot to his feet and shouted, "NO! WE HAVE A RIGHT TO DO THIS!" He pushed something hanging around his neck and sneered.

The dark-haired man growled, "What did you do?"

"We set bombs on all the cars. They will explode one by one until there is nothing left. And don't even try to stop them, cuz it won't work. I already activated them, and there is nothing you can do to turn them off!" He cackled with furious glee, but was kicked unconscious by the dark-haired man.

Gareki had heard the whole exchange. He stood quickly and said, "I can stop the bombs if you help me find them." The dark-haired man looked at him with a bit of suspicion. Nai, on the other hand, also stood up, before whispering to the older boy for a bit.

"Really?" the teen asked him in amazement.

"Un," the little one nodded, "Follow me."

Nai began to trot quickly in the direction of their car. He continued on until the noise, that had been bothering him for a while now, reached a fever pitch. He pointed to a spot on the floor and said, "The noise is coming from there."

The dark-haired man, who had followed them out of pure curiosity, muttered, "Stand back," and proceeded to make a large hole in the floor where the boy had pointed. Gareki knelt down and examined the tangle of wires protruding from the opening.

He began to think out loud, as he determined the best course of action, "Before the explosives at the rear cars started detonating, the initial signal was transmitted at the front carriage right?" he asked this out loud, not really expecting an answer, "This is…a vibration detector used for detecting when the train stops. It will disable if it doesn't get a signal from the back cars." He paused for a bit before continuing, "But, I don't know the range of this device's electrical field, so before the signal is sent out it has to be disconnected from the rear carriages." He sat back, a little frustrated that he couldn't do anything more.

The dark-haired man had an idea though. He, once again, told them to stand back. He then focused for a bit, withdrew a long glowing stick from thin air and cut the offending cars away from the rest of the train. Gareki and Nai (and Yogi who was sticking to his little brother like a lost puppy) gaped at the show of strength.

Even though Gareki had seen Yogi do some pretty amazing things, it still freaked him out a little to see something so…magical. The man them turned to the three males and smiled politely, "I completely forgot to introduce myself. From the country's defense organization _Circus_ , I am Captain of their attack squad, Hirato." He bowed and looked at them pointedly.

Yogi determined that it was his turn to take over, "I am Yogi. The tall raven is Gareki, and the little one is Nai." Hirato raised his eyebrows when Yogi stated his name. He had heard it before, but couldn't remember where. _Ah, well. It will come to me sooner or later._ He thought, dismissing it from his mind. Just in case though, he decided to have them come back to the ship with him and his colleague, Tsukumo.

"Would you three mind visiting my ship?" he said nothing more, figuring that if they accepted it would be worth his time to investigate the man with the gold and silver hair, called Yogi.

"Circus?" Nai asked with a frown, "When the people who were going to sell me saw Karoku's bracelet," he shoved back one of his long sleeves, revealing a brown leather strap that had a large red gemstone embedded in it, "they said that it belonged to Circus and that Karoku was probably part of it. Is that true? Is Karoku with you?" The pale boy sounded so hopeful that Hirato found it hard to disappoint him.

"I'm sorry, but there isn't anyone named Karoku affiliated with Circus. The bracelet, however, is one of our older ID models. Although, it was discontinued many years ago." Hirato stopped, seeing that the boy was in tears. He frowned at his lack of tact and sighed, "I am very sorry, Nai-kun. I might be able do something if you came aboard the ship though." Hirato looked at the boy's companions. They seemed to not mind the thought of coming along, so he smiled again and said, "Gareki-kun, Yogi-kun…do either of you have any objections?"

Yogi leaned towards the man, menacingly, "Touch my little brother again and I will kill you without a moment of hesitation. Does that sound appropriate to you, Hirato- _san_?" Yogi's eyes seemed to turn a little redder than before and a malicious aura seeped into his normally cheerful demeanor.

Gareki stepped quickly to his big brother and whispered gently to him, "Not here, Nii-chan. You'll kill everyone in sight…including Nai. Do you really want that?" Yogi relaxed when the teen came closer (he didn't want his fury to upset his little brother) and calmed down entirely when he began to speak. He trusted the younger boy with his life and absolutely adored him. There was nothing Yogi wouldn't do for him, even if it meant giving up on his vendetta against the stupid 'Captain of Circus's attack squad.' He sighed internally, _Mou, Gareki-kun…I know you are a peace keeper, but this restraining thing is really hard on me! Even so…I still love you, sweet little brother of mine!_

 **Whew! This one is a little longer than I'm used to but I enjoyed writing it, and I hope you enjoyed reading it. I will try to update frequently, but I make no promises. Thanks again for reading and I hope you'll come back for the next one! :)**

 **Later!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Whew...finally done! I'm trying to stick with the manga, at least in part...but it has been a long time since I've read it so I'm re-reading it, just in case.**

 **I would like to thank Kiscia and Scarlet Horn for their reviews and those who are following and/or favorited this story! I really respect everyone's opinion and I hope that I can continue to please you! XD**

 **Now, I present Chapter 2: This Place is a Circus!**

 **Enjoy! :)**

"Hai, Gareki-kun. I promise not to make a scene," Yogi pouted a bit, but he was happy that Gareki was paying attention to him instead of Nai or the dark-haired man, now known as Hirato. The boy sighed, leaning his head against the man's shoulder.

"Thank you, Nii-chan," he paused, thinking about Hirato's offer, "So? Will we go with him?"

"Well…I don't really see why not. However," Yogi glared at the dark-haired man still standing in front of them, "If the _dear_ _captain_ ever lays a finger on you again, all bets are off and I get to follow through with my original plans. Okay?"

Hirato smirked and nodded, "That sounds acceptable, Yo-."

"I wasn't talking to you," Yogi snapped, " _Gareki-kun_ , is that alright with you?"

"Heh…yeah. That's okay, Nii-chan." The boy chuckled under his breath.

Nai was listening to the whole conversation, silently. He was still quite sad that he wasn't able to see Karoku. Unconsciously, his head had lowered in grief. Gareki noticed his emotional state first. He smiled apologetically at the pale child. The dark-haired boy stretched out his hand and set it on the little one's white hair.

"Don't worry kiddo," he said softly, "Everything's going to be fine. Come here." He pulled Nai to him gently, wrapping his arms around the boy in an attempt to ease his pain. Nai closed his eyes and, holding back the tears that threatened to leak out, leaned into the embrace. He wasn't sure why, but there was something about Gareki that reminded him of Karoku. He trusted the older boy and was very, very happy that Gareki was there for him whenever he needed comforting.

Yogi frowned slightly. Again, he felt frustrated that Gareki was willing to act so familiar with someone besides him. _Gareki-kun…why? Why do you care about this brat so much? I understand that you can identify with him…but you're supposed to only need me!_

Gareki flicked his eyes up to his brother's face. It was very clear that he wasn't happy, so the dark-haired boy snickered softly, lifted one of Yogi's arms and placed it around both him and Nai. He glanced up again. Yogi looked a little surprised at first but his expression melted quickly as he cooed and tightened his grip on the two boys.

 _Alright...I will admit that they are_ both _adorable and Nai really does need help. I suppose I can deal with letting Gareki pay more attention to the boy that to me...for now...maybe...never mind, he's mine and I'm merely shareing. There that sounds about right!_ Yogi brightened. Now that he had figured out how to deal with Gareki caring for someone other than him he felt much better.

Hirato observed the three with amusement. He had never met a group quite as interesting as them.

"Well then, would you three be willing to detangle yourselves from one another and follow me back to my ship? Or were you planning on simply staying like that?" He smirked, hoping that maybe the blonde would blow up again. Yogi's eyes seemed to glow a bit when he was mad and it fascinated Hirato to no end. Yogi growled at him before slowly letting his arms drop to his sides. Gareki snickered and Nai gave a small smile.

While the two alpha males were staring each other down (one with delight, the other with annoyance), Tsukumo returned from attending to the hostages. She blinked in confusion when she noticed the situation. "Um…Hirato-san?" The girl questioned hesitantly.

Hirato finally tore his eyes away from the blonde/silver-haired man and glanced at her, "Yes, Tsukumo-chan?"

"I have dealt with the other hostages effectively. Is there anything else you need me to do before we depart?" The blonde girl tilted her head and gazed up at the man.

"Actually, I would like for you to decide which one," he gestured at the three guys, "you would be willing to carry all the way back to the Ship. I would like to ask them a few questions. Plus I'm sure they have a few to ask me as well." He looked expectantly at her.

Tsukumo's face paled a few shades. Yogi, however, had other plans. He grabbed his brother and his brother's new pet before floating a few inches off the train's hard wood paneling. The two Circus members stared at him in astonishment. He grinned triumphantly. Hirato quickly shook off his surprise and simply decided to follow the other man's lead.

He stepped lightly over to the gaping hole he had cut just a few minutes before and flew into the air. Tsukumo jumped to follow him. Yogi tightened his grip and did the same. Pretty soon all three were soaring through the night sky, headed toward the one place that held all of their answers.

Ӂ-Ӂ-Ӂ

"Welcome back, baa. Welcome back, meep. Welcome back, baa. Welcome back, meep." At the group's arrival, a small rabbit and sheep (both wearing spiffy outfits) greeted them politely. Hirato told the three guests to say something so they could register their voices.

Yogi and Gareki said, "Sorry for intruding," and Nai whispered, "Good evening." The bunny and sheep whirred for a bit before bleating (and meeping), "Voice print registered."

"TSUKUMO-SENPAI!"

"TSUKUMO-CHAN!"

Two very loud, female voices rang through the wide halls as a tall green-haired woman, accompanied by a younger blue-haired girl (who looked like she thought she was some kind of princess), dashed toward Tsukumo. Gareki jumped a little at their voices and pressed his back against his brother's chest. He didn't like loud people in general and seriously disliked bubbly, annoying, spastic, loud people as a rule. Yogi winced. He wasn't too fond of 'loudies' (as Gareki had dubbed them when he was ten) either. Even though he could be a tad bit bubbly when he was incredibly happy, he knew Gareki didn't like it very much so he always tried to reign himself in as much as he possibly could, and he made sure to speak quietly so as not to bother the boy more than necessary.

The tall woman and girl both jumped on the poor blonde, hugging her with all their might. As soon as Tsukumo replied with a gentle, "Hello Iva, Kiichi," they began chattering at a deafening pitch. Everyone covered their ears, even the bunny and sheep 'guards' raised their tiny paws to their ears in a desperate attempt to block out the noise.

Hirato waved his three guests over to him and shouted above the din, "Why don't I take you to my office! We can talk at a more normal level there!" Gareki and Nai both nodded vigorously, hands still pressed tightly to the sides of their heads.

The four males walked quickly out of the hall before ducking into a spectacularly silent room. All of them breathed a heavy sigh of relief…then the wonderful quiet was shattered by a cheerful, "HIRATO!" The dark-haired man in question looked up just in time to see a flash of red before he was tackled to the floor.

"You're back!" A tall man with red hair, who was wearing an outfit similar to Hirato's (instead of the upscale trench coat and tie, he wore a red and black striped scarf wrapped loosely around his neck), turned his lightly golden eyes on his captain and began babbling excitedly.

"How did it go? Did you learn anything new? I still wish you would have picked me to go with you. How was Tsukumo? She didn't get scared or anything, right? She really is a nice girl. Who are these boys? Iva and Jiki got in a fight again while you were gone. But you don't have to worry, I took care of it. Do you want me to get you something? What did yo-"

Hirato cut him off by shoving the red head to the side. He slowly sat up and groaned, "Tsukitachi, how many times do I have to tell you to stay off me?" He rubbed the back of his head, "That really hurt you little…"

"Waaah! Hirato! Don't swear in front of kids! It teaches them bad manners. You should kno-" The red head, now known as Tsukitachi, was silenced with an icy glare from Hirato.

The dark-haired man sighed, "I apologize for my subordinate's actions…and decibel of voice," he looked up at the three. They were standing stock still and couldn't help but stare at the two men. They didn't know Hirato was even capable of emotion. They thought that the calm and collected façade that seemed to have taken up permanent residence on his face was all he had. Right now, however, the captain looked like he wanted to strangle the red head.

Hirato stood quickly and brushed himself off a bit. Tsukitachi leapt to his feet as well. He watched as Hirato tersely ushered Yogi, Gareki, and Nai over to the couch that sat in the middle of the large room. As the four sat down, he bounded over to the captain and plopped down in a chair next to him. Hirato cuffed him on the head before seating himself gently at his desk.

"Now then…is there anything you would like to ask me?" He looked directly at Gareki. He decided that the boy was more mature than the other two and could handle an interrogation from the coldly polite captain.

"Yes," Gareki smirked at him, "What happened on that train? And…" the teen glanced at the child sitting next to him, "Are you going to be able to help Nai find the person he's looking for? Um…his name's Karoku, right Nai?" The pale boy nodded and leaned forward, dashing out a quick description.

"Karoku has light blue hair, blue eyes, a kind smile and has a voice that sounds like…well…" Nai smiled softly, remembering the man that had taken care of him his entire life, "He sounds like a waterfall. Calm, gentle, happy, caring," he sighed, "I really miss him. I hope he's okay. When he went missing I found a bunch of pools of red water. I thought they were a little strange but Karoku was gone so I didn't pay much attention to them. Eh? What's wrong, Gareki?" He had peeked back at the older boy when he had finished talking about Karoku. Nai hadn't expected his new friend to look so upset when he mentioned the red water.

"Red water…" Yogi breathed, "Nai-chan was the red water a little thicker than normal?"

"Um…maybe. Why?"

"That wasn't water, it was blood. Meaning that your…Karoku, is either dead or seriously injured." Hirato answered for the blonde/silver-haired man.

Nai looked horrified, "D-dead?" He spun to look at Gareki, "Wh-what d-does that mean? It sounds bad, really bad…" he trailed off, not wanting to even think about what that word might mean.

Gareki winced slightly, "It means that even if you did find your friend, he wouldn't ever wake up. No matter what you did. However, just because there was blood doesn't automatically mean that he is dead. It might mean that he fought back and wounded his kidnappers…" Gareki stopped when he saw that nothing he said, other than his first two sentences, was going to make it through to Nai. The youth was already in tears.

At this point Yogi spoke up, "Nai-chan," he murmured, "It's going to be okay. Gareki-kun is right. There is no way of knowing that Karoku-san is dead unless an actual body is found," he paused and smiled softly at the despondent child, "How about until we do find him…you stay with Gareki-kun and I? We'll take care of you while Karoku-san is missing. Does that sound alright with you?"

Nai sniffled a bit, "Yes," he whispered, "I would like that." He gave Yogi and Gareki a small grin before sitting down in the spot between them (the brothers had moved away from each other to make room for him when Yogi asked if he wanted to stay with them). He curled his legs underneath him and leaned back with a sad sigh.

Hirato chuckled. "Is it okay if I ask my questions now?" When he saw Gareki nod, he cleared his throat and began, "Yogi. You are capable of flight and your eyes become redder when you are upset. How and why? Gareki. While you weren't able to stop the bomb on the train, you seemed to be in familiar territory. What made that possible? Also, when I hit you in the stomach, you didn't pass out or throw up like most people would have. Why is that?" He stopped to give them time to answer.

Gareki went first, "I've always had an interest in mechanics; explosives are one of my favorite things to work with. And in answer to the second question…well," he glanced at Yogi, "Nii-chan taught me how to fight when I was little. I guess all the exercises he put me through paid off. If that isn't the answer you were looking for, sorry, but there isn't another one."

Hirato smirked at the bratty statement, "Alright then. Yogi?"

"Do I have to reply?" The blonde/sliver haired man crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Hirato, "The answers are personal."

"Well…if you want any kind of assistance in finding Karoku I would recommend responding anyway."

Yogi huffed, "Fine!" He took a breath and proceeded to tell his story.

 **This chapter is a little shorter than the first one but it was fun to write and I hope you liked it! :)**

 **Oh and btw, this will be the last chapter I'm going post for a bit. Two to three weeks to be exact. My editor, aka: my spectacular, incredible, magnificent mother (Luv u Mommy! XD), is going on a trip and I seriously need her advice when I write. So, anyway I suppose you could call this a mini hiatus but I will try to make up for it when she gets back.**

 **Later!**


	3. Chapter 3

**MY MOMMY IS HOME! YAAAAAAY! I don't care if most people shun their parents! I love mine and I'm not afraid to admit it! XD**

 **Anyway, I am really enjoying this story (possibly more than** ** _Niji Meets Neko_** **) and I hope that you like it too!**

 **Enjoy Chapter 3: Hide-and-Seek**

"I was born twenty-one years ago in a relatively small country called Rimhakka," Yogi began slowly, "I was the king's first born. He was a good man and I always tried to be like him." The young man smiled bitterly at the painful memory, "When I was four years old my little sister, Miumarie, was born. She was absolutely adorable and I loved spending time with her. We always used to go searching for Miumanai flowers. She had a knack for finding them whenever she wanted." Yogi chuckled, as a few tears formed in his eyes. He brushed them away in embarrassment.

"Everything was perfect, up until a few months after my tenth birthday. That was when _they_ came…" Hirato leaned forward in anticipation, "Miumarie went missing first. I went to go find her with two other servants. They were killed and I was knocked out." Yogi paused and covered his face with his hands. Gareki frowned a little. Seeing his hero troubled made him feel angry. Not at anyone in particular but just in general. The dark-haired boy looked at Yogi and felt his heart twinge. He could see tears leaking through the older man's fingers and his shoulders were shaking slightly.

"Nii-chan…you don't really need to-"

"It's okay, Gareki-kun," Yogi slid a hand into his multicolored hair and smiled sideways at the worried boy, "I might as well." He exhaled and collected himself before continuing, "When I woke up I was lying on a bed in the middle of an empty room with a large screen on one side. After a bit a variety of voices began speaking to me.

'Oh! You're awake! Are you hurt anywhere?'

'You've endured it well!'

'You must be grateful to your parents for giving you such a healthy body!'

'Father…mother,' I suddenly remembered what I had been doing before passing out, 'I…when I was looking for Miumarie on the hill when suddenly there was…!' I stopped as the screen flickered on, revealing a group of scary looking people. They were congratulating me and telling me that I had successfully evolved and that I was now their comrade. Then they told me something that made my blood run cold.

'Everyone in Rimhakka was weak. Not even one of them survived.'

'Hey. Let him see _that_. Once he sees the difference he should understand how much better he is.'

The screen flickered again and I heard a childish scream, 'ONII-CHAN!' The video footage showed a large tornado ripping through Rimhakka. The camera focused on my baby sister as she cried for help." Yogi lowered his hands and placed them in his lap. His breathing was even, posture relaxed, expression neutral. He locked his feelings away and was simply running on facts now.

"You're thinking that I must have been screaming at them to help her, right? I didn't. Sure, it horrified me, but I didn't scream or cry or whimper or…anything. I just watched. Eventually they stopped playing the video and asked me what I thought about it. I didn't answer. They kept asking me what was wrong and saying that now that I was one of them everything was going to be okay and they would take care of me. I simply blocked them out.

"Instead I listened to a different voice I heard when I saw Miumarie die. It was gentle and harsh, sweet and cruel, happy and sad. When I closed my eyes I could see him. He looked just like me, but…silvery." The former prince twiddled with a strand of silver hair, "He told me that we would use his power to protect us. He said that if we worked together we could protect our loved ones, or at least any new ones we might have later," Yogi gave a small smile and leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling, "I trusted him and said so. He disappeared after that and I noticed that I could feel his presence inside my own soul. He had become a part of me.

"When I opened my eyes again I knew exactly how to get out. I won't go into the…um…gruesome details but I got out without dying and was able to run away to the nearest town." He sighed before reaching over and ruffling Gareki's dark hair, "After a while I ended up in Karasuna where I found this guy!" His demeanor had brightened considerably when he began speaking about his precious little brother, "He had been on a sla-"

"Nii-chan," Gareki cut him off quickly, "They have no need to be informed about _that_. Besides, they didn't ask about me they wanted to know about _your_ past." The teen frowned. Nai noticed that his new friend had turned a sickly white at Yogi's final comment.

"A-ah, that's right! Sorry, Gareki-kun," Yogi winced a bit. He hadn't meant to start talking about _that_ but he just couldn't help talking about his little brother!

"Thank you, Yogi-san," Hirato cut in before anyone could say another word, "I have a few questions about your account. If you don't mind, that is." Yogi nodded with a smile.

"Very well then, about this group of-"

At this point Tsukitachi grew tired of all the tension (plus he didn't really like being ignored for such a long time), so he said, "WAAAAH! This atmosphere is so heavy! Everyone is waaaaay too formal! Be more friendly everybody! You three are going to be here for a while, right? So cut loose a bit, have fun!" He stood and spun around happily, a wide grin on his face.

"Oh, I forgot you were here, Tsukitachi," Hirato glared coldly at his subordinate. His comment made the red head start sniveling, "Hm…now then, where was I?" Hirato put a finger to his chin, "Ah! Yes that's right, Yogi, about this group of people who were on the screen, did you see any of their faces, if so, do you remember them?"

"Sorry, but I don't remember their faces. They were in a dark room and I was too…upset to focus on them." Yogi crossed his legs and reached his hands behind his head, "If you have any other questions about the details, I'm afraid I won't be much help. I've tried to forget most of it." Hirato nodded in understanding, before standing gracefully. He stretched out an arm and grabbed hold of a blubbering Tsukitachi by the ear.

Tsukitachi yelped and tried to wriggle his way out of the iron grip. His efforts worked against him though, because as soon as he started Hirato pinched down harder. Again the red head shouted in pain.

"Hiraaatooo!" He cried in pained indignation, "Let goooo!" Hirato huffed and yanked him over to the door, motioning at the others to follow him. The three boys did as they were told. Gareki couldn't help but chuckle under his breath at the sight of a grown man being punished like a child. In the hallway–the poor soul who had been captured by the vicious ogre–Knock it off Tsukitachi! This is my story, get outta here!

Ahem…

In the hallway Tsukitachi was released and, as he crept away cradling his violated ear, he shouted over his shoulder, "That hurt, you BAKA!" He then dashed quickly to his room and slammed the door (his words may have sounded outraged but his heart was a-quiver with fear). Yogi chuckled as Hirato glared in the retreating man's direction.

The dark-haired man huffed and turned back to his guests, "I apologize for my subordinate's actions. He is quite incorrigible." Hirato pushed up his glasses, "If you would follow me please, I shall show you to your room. I hope you don't mind sharing."

He led them down the hall and into a large room with a bunk bed and a twin bed. Gareki immediately dashed over to the bunks and flew up the ladder to the upper one (he loved being up in the air). Yogi laughed and asked, "Nai-chan, do you want to sleep on the single bed?" The young albino shrugged. He didn't really know the difference so he figured he would do as he was told instead of actually deciding anything. Yogi smiled and said, "Well you can try it for tonight and if you don't like it we can switch. Does that sound all right?" Nai nodded and bounced over to what he figured was the 'single bed' Yogi had mentioned.

Yogi giggled when the younger boy jumped on the lower bunk (Nai guessed wrong). After the little boy mussed up the blankets, much to the annoyance of the bunnies and sheep, the two loud girls from earlier appeared in the doorway. Tsukumo, and a charcoal haired boy who was around Gareki's age, were with them. The blue-haired girl spoke first, "Hiro-chan! Who are these brats and why haven't they been introduced to Kiichi-sama?" She flipped her curly hair over her shoulder, haughtily, "You!" She pointed at Yogi (who couldn't help but wince at the shrillness of her voice), "What's your name, trash, and why are you on Kiichi-sama's ship?"

Gareki growled from the upper bunk, "Don't you dare call Nii-chan trash, you little…"

"Gareki-kun!" Yogi chided him gently, "Don't make me wash your mouth out with soap!" The dark-haired boy frowned (after turning just a shade paler) and settled with simply glaring angrily at the blue-haired girl, who appeared to be referring to herself by name.

The blue-haired girl, or Kiichi-sama as she seemed to call herself, sneered at Gareki and stomped her foot at Yogi, silently demanding an answer. Yogi sighed and said, "My name is Yogi, that is Gareki and this is Nai," he motioned at each of them in turn. Kiichi 'humphed,' turned to Tsukumo and began chattering about clothes, or some other useless topic.

"Now, now, Kiichi-chan. Be nice to our guests!" The charcoal haired boy nudged the babbling girl lightly, "It's nice to meet you all. My name is Jiki, welcome to Circus." He seemed like nice person but Nai sensed that there was something fake about him.

Hirato cleared his throat to get everyone's attention and said, "Why don't you all get to know each other a little better before we have dinner. You could play a game. I would recommend hide-and-seek; there are many places to hide on the ship. Enjoy yourselves!" With that he spun and waltzed gracefully out the door, leaving the guests and crew members in an uncomfortable silence.

The green-haired woman broke the silence first, "Well…why don't we do as Hirato suggested? Tsukumo could be the seeker and everyone else could hide." Her companions all nodded happily. They loved hide-and-seek.

Gareki wasn't as enthusiastic about preforming such childish antics, "Hang on a second! Why do we have to play such a dumb game?" He wasn't against the game in general (he used to love playing with Yogi) but he didn't really like that Hirato had been the one to suggest it.

The woman huffed and said, "We play it because it's fun. Now, why don't I introduce the rest of us. My name is Iva. The blonde cutie is Tsukumo and this little sweetie," she hugged the little blue-haired girl, "is Kiichi. It's nice to meet you three." She grinned at the boys.

Yogi blushed a little, "It's nice to meet you too." Nai also greeted the crew members. Gareki stubbornly refused to speak to them. All he did was nod brusquely in their direction.

Kiichi didn't like that very much. "Hey, Gomi*-kun! You had better greet us politely! We are going through the trouble to take you guys in and this is how you thank us?! Brat!" She spat every single word, like she couldn't wait to get them out of her mouth. Gareki bristled in anger. He leapt off the bunk bed and went to stand right over the haughty little girl. She glared up at him as he glared down at her. Yogi tried to placate his little brother by putting his hands on Gareki's shoulders and pulling him gently back. It worked, sort of. Gareki was still staring furiously at Kiichi but he felt less like he needed to strangle her. Yogi smiled and ruffled the boy's hair affectionately.

Jiki chuckled at the two's bickering before saying, "So? Are we going to play hide-and-seek? Or is Gareki-kun too scared about losing to a bunch of Circus freaks?" He looked right at the dark-haired boy when he said this. Jiki loved teasing people. He got a real kick out of the reactions his victims gave when he did. Gareki did not disappoint.

His expression went from angry to murderous in 0.5 nanoseconds. Yogi, with a great deal of trouble, had to keep the boy from wrapping his fingers around Jiki's neck and tightening, never to come undone. Gareki was squirming violently, trying desperately to reach the object of his rage. Jiki smirked. This was going better than he had anticipated. He leaned toward Gareki, hands resting arrogantly on his hips, and flicked him right between the eyes.

That did it. Gareki wrenched himself away from Yogi's grip and threw his body at Jiki in an insane frenzy. Jiki yelped as they fell to the ground. They suddenly became a shouting, punching, angry mass of whirling 'masculinity.'

Yogi tried to disentangle his brother alone, but his efforts went unnoticed. Gareki just kept attempting to throttle Jiki. Iva and Kiichi just stood there, cackling at their fight. Tsukumo, who, at the time, was feeling sympathetic, helped Yogi pull the two apart. With her help the blonde/silver-haired man was able to yank Gareki away from Jiki and back onto Nai's bed, where he restrained the still struggling boy until he had calmed down a bit.

The raven haired boy was a mess. He had the beginnings of a black eye; his clothes were practically in tatters; his lip was split and bleeding; one of his fingers felt a little stiff and he still looked like he was ready to commit homicide, regardless of the consequences.

Jiki had fared no better. His previously nice clothes had been shredded (Gareki had been particularly pleased when he had gotten a hold of the charcoal-haired boy's tie; he had immensely enjoyed the purple hue Jiki's face had taken on when he pulled) and he looked just as, if not more, beat up as Gareki did. The only reason he hadn't attacked Gareki again was the fact that Tsukumo (the one-sided love of his life) was hanging off his arm, in an effort to keep him away from the boy. The two restrained boys decided to glare at each other crossly, rather than continue to fight against their captors. If one hadn't hated the other beforehand they certainly did now.

Of course, Iva and Kiichi were still laughing hysterically at the sight of the two beat up boys. "Oh my, what fun!" Iva chuckled gleefully as she wiped tears of joy from her eyes, "That was even more fun than hide-and-seek! However, we really should start playing now before it gets too dark." Kiichi, Tsukumo, Yogi and Nai nodded their agreement while Gareki and Jiki stayed stonily silent. So now that everyone, or almost everyone I suppose, was ready to play Tsukumo released Jiki's arm, covered her eyes and began to count. All of those present quickly left the room and proceeded to find their hiding places.

Gareki hid on top of the Ship's air ducts, Yogi hid in a small props room with a silly little mushroom hat over his head, Jiki hid in the library (or rather he was lured there by the enticing smell of unread books), Kiichi hid under her bed and Iva hid in her enormous closet (it took Tsukumo almost fifteen minutes to just to find her in there). While the blonde seeker was looking for the others, Nai was crawling through a vent he found in one of the walls. Gareki had told him that hide-and-seek was a game where you tried not to be found. Nai thought that was a little strange but he figured that he could trust that everyone would make it a fun game and that he would be found soon and that he didn't have to worr-

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Nai screamed as his hand connected with air rather than the cold metal he had been expecting. He fell a long way before landing on the ground outside of the ship (it had anchored for the night at a town a few dozen miles away from Karasuna).

As the poor albino child rubbed his sore rump he heard a gravelly voice say, "Well, well! If it isn't another little seedling. I wonder what color of flowers this one will grow into, hm?" Nai scooted away from the tall egg headed man whom he had landed in front of. The man gave off a scary vibe and Nai wanted to get as far away from him as possible. "Your actions aren't very consistent." The man took a few steps toward Nai, revealing a dead body gripped tightly in his hand, "You are the one who came to me. So why are you running away now?" Nai began to cry as the scary man walked closer. Bloodlust seeped out of the man's very gaze. The one thought that went through Nai's mind was: _I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm going to die!_

DUN DUN DUUUUUUN!

 ***'Gomi' means 'trash' in Japanese.**

 **Thanks for reading! :)**

 **Later!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Waaaah! I'm so sorry for being so late! I had a rather important test last month and the prep work I had to do for it totally drained me. Plus, I was having a little trouble...coming up with what to say. I'm really, really sorry!**

 **All right then, I would like to thank those who reviewed while I was...um...slacking and those who continued to wait for chapter four! In particular, I would like to send my gratitude to CuteCat213 for reviewing when you did and how you did (** **by the way, I absolutely ADORE _Blood Red Silver_ ). I really needed the extra push to start working again. Thank you so very, very much! Oh, and I fixed the mistakes you pointed out. I can't believe I missed that! X_X**

 **Anyway, I'm sure you are sick of my rambling so onward with Chapter 4: Egg-Head**

* * *

"UWAAAAAAAH!" The terrified albino screamed as he tried desperately to get away from the scary egg-headed man. The tall man tilted his head in confusion and began babbling something about seeds and flowers. Nai was utterly petrified. He wailed loudly for help, and just as he was about to be torn apart by the frightening egg-headed man, Yogi (carrying Gareki) and Tsukumo (furious with herself for not finding the poor child quicker) came swooping down to save him.

"NAI!" Gareki squirmed out of Yogi's grip and dashed over to the pale (even more so, considering the situation he had gotten himself in) boy, "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Why are you out here, you dope!?" The dark-haired teen yanked Nai to his feet and pulled him behind Tsukumo and Yogi.

Yogi growled at the egg-headed man and summoned his twin epees. As his long spear-like vines crept up his arms and twisted around his legs, he glared at egg-head before shouting, "What were you planning on doing with Nai-chan, you twisted creep-o?!"

Egg-head blinked slowly (he wasn't exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer) and whined, "'Creep-o?' That's not very nice! Mama's gonna punish you when she gets here! Mama loves me and she loves pretty red flowers so when I get the red seeds from that child Mama will love me even more!" Egg-head chuckled and clapped his hands together excitedly, "Won't that be wonderful! "

"Now then!" Egg-head reached into his bulky coat, pulled out a bunch of unidentifiable round objects, and hurled them at the four young people. Tsukumo and Yogi shrieked when they realized that the 'objects' were, in fact, eyeballs. The eyes suddenly expanded to look like starfish before wrapping their long tendrils around the two fighters.

"Nii-chan!" Gareki yelped in concern. In response, Yogi gave him a look that said, _Stay there, or face my wrath._ The dark-haired teen opened his mouth, as if to speak, but reconsidered at the last second. He clenched his jaw, growling angrily. As he was scolding himself for his submission, the egg-head roared happily and flung some more eyes at Nai in an attempt to capture him as well. Gareki blocked the oncoming attack with his own body before roaring, "Get outta here ya blockhead! You're his target!"

"Nai-chan, run!"

"Run away!"

Nai shivered at the sight of his friend's desperation, "N-no," he clenched his hands, trying to still his quivering body, "LET THEM GO!" He picked up the nearest rock (a rather large one, in fact) and hurled it at egg-head with all his might. It merely bounced a couple times before landing two or three feet away from Tsukumo.

After multiple seconds (in which no one did or said anything out of pure unfiltered surprise at Nai's actions), egg-head grinned widely and took a few steps toward the terrified boy. However, he stumbled to a stop when a small robot bunny landed in front of Nai and stated calmly, "One hour has passed and you haven't been told, 'Found you!' yet, baa. You are the winner, baa. Hide-and-seek is now over, baa." The sheep grabbed Nai and proceeded to fly back to the Ship at a very rapid speed.

Tsukumo took advantage of egg-head's astonishment to kick Nai's stone right into the back of the plant- obsessed man's oddly shaped noggin'. Egg-head screeched before flying away as fast as he possibly could.

The pretty blonde sighed, "He ran away," she struggled against the eye tendrils and, after eventually breaking free, asked politely, "Want some help, Yo-" Tsukumo's sentence came to a halt midway when she noticed that Yogi had already released himself and was working on untangling Gareki.

After removing Gareki's binds, Yogi turned toward Tsukumo and said (with the tiniest touch of scorn), "What were you saying?" The blonde girl frowned slightly but tried her best to not let him ruffle her feathers.

"We should probably get back. I'm sure Hirato-san is worried," with that, she leapt into the dark sky and headed in the direction of the Ship. Gareki snickered at the girl's lame attempt to brush Yogi off. Pretty soon the two brothers were also soaring through the air, following the invisible path Tsukumo had taken.

When they got back on board, Nai was there to greet them, "WAAAAH! Gareki! Yogi!" The ruby-eyed child wailed as he flung himself into Gareki's safe grasp, "It was so scaaaary!" The dark-haired boy chuckled softly and patted Nai's head.

"Hey, Brat!" The annoying blue-haired girl sneered angrily at Gareki (who, for some reason, irked her more than the others), "Why'd you run off? Tsukumo-senpai wasn't finished searching!" She crossed her arms and huffed, "I knew you were just lowlife scu-" Kiichi was cut off in the middle of her sentence by a strangely angry Yogi.

He grabbed her throat and snarled at her furiously, "Try it, _sweetheart_. I dare you." The blue-haired girl choked out a small whimper.

When Gareki realized what Yogi was doing, he pushed Nai gently aside and grabbed his brother's arm saying gently, "Nii-san, it's all right. She wasn't going to hurt me. She's just a stupid brat who doesn't have any manners. You can let go of her, okay?" Yogi growled but released the child before she passed out. Thankfully, none of the other Circus members had witnessed his act of violence against Kiichi (I have a feeling things wouldn't have blown over very well if any of them had seen what he did).

Kiichi gasped for breath as she fell from Yogi's grip. The usually stoic blue-haired girl had tears in her eyes as she tried to get away from the angry man (whose hair seemed to be just a little more silvery than before). Gareki felt sorry for the terrified girl, regardless of how heinous she acted towards him, so he knelt down in front of her and placed his hand on a trembling shoulder. He gave her a tiny smile, "Are you all right, Kiichi?"

Kiichi opened her mouth, as if to speak, but no words came out. For the first time in her entire life she wasn't even able to think of a snappy retort.

Finally, she took a shuddering breath and said meekly, "Y-yes. I'm okay. And…um…Yo-yogi-san? I'm sorry f-for b-being rude." The young Circus member glanced at the furious man and gave him a weak smile. Her docile behavior made Yogi calm down a little, allowing her to escape to the refuge of her room where she hid for the rest of the night (and most of the next morning as well).

After Kiichi had disappeared, Gareki sighed heavily. He was usually pretty good at judging his brother's mood, so when Yogi tried to kill the blue-haired brat, he had been quite surprised. Gareki stood and turned toward Yogi, a tired look on his face, "Nii-chan, why did you do that to Kiichi?" Yogi pouted at the reprimand.

"She was rude to you, Gareki-kun," the man scratched his head sheepishly, "I didn't like that, so I stopped her. I wasn't gonna actually hurt her."

Gareki poked him lightly on the forehead, "I appreciate the sentiment, but you went a little overboard," he rubbed his face and sighed again, "Oh well, at least none of her friends saw. That would have been really bad." The dark-haired boy then noticed Nai, who had watched Yogi's outburst in concerned shock, still standing where he had been pushed. Gareki smiled gently and held his arms out to the frightened albino child.

Nai quickly shuffled over and leaned into the embrace. In the next moment Hirato arrived followed by Tsukumo and Iva.

"Are you three all right?" The Circus captain looked quite worried about his three guests, "Tsukumo told me about your encounter with the Varuga," he glanced at Nai, "I hope you weren't too scared Nai. Nai?" Hirato frowned when he saw that the child's eyes had glazed over and that he was no longer listening.

Nai was hearing voices. Or at least he was hearing _a_ voice. It sounded like Karoku. The pale child cried out in pain as a ringing voice split the quiet of his own thoughts, "NAi, CaN yOU hEaR mE?"

As Nai sunk to the ground, his new friends screaming his name in concern, he caught bits and pieces of a conversation being held many miles away from the Ship, "Karoku!" A female voice chirped happily. In response a man, who sounded so much like Karoku it made Nai weep, said calmly, "I heard you were caught up in an incident, Erishuka." Nai heard the girl screech Karoku's name before she said, "I was longing to see you, Karoku, so I put up with the scary stuff. Karoku, I wanted to see you!"

Gareki caught Nai before he hit the cold floor. Nai was shaking and sobbing and whimpering all at once. Hirato quickly gave Tsukumo orders to go get the doctor before dashing off to find Tsukitachi and inform him of the situation. Yogi knelt down next to his panicking little brother and whispered quietly, "Don't worry, Gareki-kun. Nai is going to be all right. Everything is okay. Stay calm." Gareki took three shuddering breaths and forced himself back under control. He knew that he wouldn't be any good to Nai if he was having a panic attack.

When Tsukumo returned with the Ship's doctor (a young man with pink hair and a rotten personality), she found Gareki holding Nai tightly as he rocked gently back and forth. Yogi was watching the two worriedly but didn't doing anything to interfere. The doctor began barking orders with fervor, "You! Boy!" He stabbed his finger in Gareki's direction, "Pick up the patient and come with me." Gareki obeyed without complaint. He followed the grouchy doctor to a nicely stocked medical room where Hirato was pacing back and forth as he waited.

When our dark-haired captain saw the uptight doctor stalk in, shadowed by Gareki and Yogi (and Nai but he's kind of unconscious right now, so I think we can ignore him for a bit), he asked hurriedly, "What happened to Nai, Akari-san?"

Akari growled at Hirato, "How should I know?! I just got to him!" He bustled about and, after a bit, told Gareki to lay his charge down on one of the medical bunks scattered around the room. "And how many times do I have to tell you to use 'sensei' rather than 'san'?!"

Hirato let out an uncharacteristic growl of displeasure before snapping, "You are supposed to be a doctor, so figure out what's wrong. And fix it!" Yogi suppressed the urge to giggle as the two men (fully grown, adult men) began bickering furiously with each other. Gareki, on the other hand, was still standing next to the bed that he had laid Nai down on.

The dark-haired teen noticed that Nai's eyes were just barely open and that he was trying to say something. Gareki sat down next to him and leaned over to hear what the child was attempting to say. "It hurts, Gareki. It hurts."

The teen took Nai's small hand in his own and whispered, "Don't worry, Nai. You are going to be okay. Hang in there, all right?" As Nai slipped back into unconsciousness, he nodded weakly and gave his worried friend a small smile. Gareki tightened his grip on Nai's limp hand and shouted (quite angrily, I might add), "Will you two idiots stop screaming at each other and start figuring out what's wrong with Nai?!" Hirato and Akari (who had both kind of forgotten their original task) started at the sound of his declaration. Yogi smiled proudly. He had always encouraged Gareki to speak his mind with confidence and, apparently, the teen had listened to his advice.

Akari huffed, "I was planning on doing just that, but this uppity brat began fighting with me." Hirato reared around to retort angrily, however Akari cut him off sharply with an icy glare. The younger man growled again, but didn't actually say anything (the pink-haired doctor had been his teacher when the captain was in training at Kuronomei and, even now, he was still just a little bit intimidated by the doctor).

It took Akari ten minutes to hook Nai up to a bunch of medical machines, analyze his situation and make an educated guess at the boy's unusual condition, "His brain waves were strongly disrupted for a moment. He's fine now and all there is to do is wait for him to wake up. I don't know what caused the disturbance, but as long as I have some time to investigate I should be able to pinpoint whatever was afflicting him." Everyone in the room breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Even though they had only known the strange child for a few hours, there wasn't a single person on the entire ship who would wish harm upon him (well, okay, Jiki is probably an exception).

After fiddling with his glasses for a bit, Hirato cleared his throat and said, "Well then, I should be getting back to work. If you'll excuse me." With that the dark-haired captain quickly spun and stalked confidently out the door. A few moments later, however, he reappeared in the doorway, a snarky smile adorning his features, "Oh and Akari- _sensei_." Akari looked up from his clipboard in surprise (he wasn't used to responding to 'sensei' when said by Hirato). "You were the one who started fighting with me, not the other way around. And another thing…" he paused and basked in the magnificent feeling of Akari's furious glare (he enjoys the angry one, it's the icy glare that freaks him out a bit), "While you were able to make a guess as to what made Nai pass out, you aren't able to wake him up and you also weren't able to properly diagnose his condition. I should tell your mentor about this. I'm sure he would get a good laugh out of your fail-" He ducked swiftly as a rather large book came flying at his head. As he ran to his office, a flurry of curses followed him through the hall, he cackled happily at the marvelous success of his prodding (because of that he was in a nearly perfect mood for the rest of the week).

Back in the medical room, Akari was fuming. Even the two 'street rats' hadn't heard some of the naughty words our good doctor continued to spit out furiously.

"Um, Akari-sensei?" Yogi tentatively reached out to the doctor.

Akari whipped around and snarled harshly, "What?!" The blonde/silver-haired man jumped back in surprise.

 _Waaah! Scary!_ Yogi thought as a scared shiver ran down his spine. He forced himself to continue though, "U-um…y-you said that Nai was going to be okay, right?" Gareki glanced at his stuttering older brother. Yogi was actually quite pale and looked like he was about to join Nai in the land of oblivion.

Akari sighed harshly, "Yes. He'll be totally fine. I would recommend waiting in your own room until he wakes up. If necessary, I will come get you personally." He stalked over to Nai's bedside and stared down at the sleeping child. In a fit of uncharacteristic affection, he patted Nai softly on the head and said, in a rather quiet voice, "I promise that he will be fine. Nothing will happen to him," the pink-haired doctor smiled gently, "I guarantee it."

Gareki scratched a hand through his hair and looked up at Akari, "All right. But," the teen slowly removed his hand from Nai's and stood glaring at the doctor, suspicion written all over his face, "If I find out later that you harmed or messed with him in any way, I will…" he paused and allowed just a smidgen of bloodlust seep through his calm façade, "Kill you with my bare hands."

Akari raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything in reply. Instead he gave a slight chuckle and nodded in acquiescence. When Gareki saw that there wasn't any reason for him to worry, he walked quickly past the doctor, grabbed his brother's arm and practically dragged the much taller man out the door.

When the two brothers had gone, Akari patted Nai's head once more before turning and walking over to his desk. As he seated himself at his computer (it was nestled amongst the piles and piles of paperwork he hadn't gotten to yet) he began rapidly typing up some report. He continued working into the early hours of the morning.

Another day had dawned by the time his young patient began to stir.

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 **Yay! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will try to update soon. Again, I am so sorry for being late; I'll do my best to continue to actually write!**

 **Thank you for reading! Reviews (of any kind) are my fuel so please don't be afraid to write something!**

 **Later! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello there! I'm (finally) back with chapter 5!**

 **Thanks to Masked guest (I'm glad you like it! :) ) BrintySelf (Egg-head really is ugly!) and CuteCat231 (no, there won't be any pairings...unless I decide to come up with an OC and have Yogi fall for her...but I don't think it's too likely; glad you are enjoying it!) for reviewing!**

 **Also, thanks to all who read and enjoy!**

 **This chapter is mostly filler, some plot but not much. I would recommend listening to the songs that are in italics (they put me in the mood to write this in the first place). YouTube has all of them, usually they are the first one listed.**

 **Now, I command (politely, of course :) ) that you enjoy Chapter 5:** **REPETITIVE SONG CHALLENGE!**

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 _Yaaaawn_

Nai stretched like a cat as he woke from his forced unconsciousness. The young albino looked around sleepily. The first thing (or, rather, person) he saw was Akari-sensei, who had passed out just a few moments before his patient had woken up. Nai giggled quietly. He didn't know who the pink-haired man was, but even he could tell that sleeping wasn't something the other did too often.

He quietly threw off his blankets and slid off the bed onto the floor. He shivered when his bare feet hit the cold tile. He then picked up his blanket before shuffling over to the sleeping doctor. Nai carefully spread the blanket out and laid it gently across Akari's shoulders. The doctor grunted and turned his head, but didn't wake up.

Nai let out the breath he had been holding and whispered, "Sleep well, Mr. Pink Hair."

With that he tiptoed to the door and crept out into the hall. He looked around and spotted one of the robot sheep. Nai pranced over to it happily and asked, "Hello there, Sheep-san! Do you know where Gareki and Yogi are?"

"Gareki-san and Yogi-san are still asleep in their room, baa. Would you like me to lead you there, baa?" The sheep tilted its head to the side as it offered to help.

"Yes please!" Nai clasped his hands behind his back and bounced on the balls of his feet. The sheep spun around quickly and took off (at a pace that it figured Nai could keep up with) in the direction of the brother's room.

Nai tried his best to keep the sheep within sight (it disappeared one time but he turned a corner and found it again) and, eventually, the sheep slowed down as it came to Nai's destination. The boy stopped and panted from the unexpected exertion, "Th-thank you, Sheep-san." The sheep bowed slightly and dashed off to some other 'urgent' duty.

When Nai's breath finally returned, he opened the door in front of him and peeked in. He slipped through the doorway and looked around the room to see if either of the brothers were awake yet (he had forgotten that the sheep had told him that the brothers were _still asleep in their room_ ).

He let out a disappointed sigh when he heard the calm, even breathing of his new friends as they slept. Nai walked over to the bunk bed and stood on his tiptoes to see if Gareki really was asleep. He was. Nai didn't stop looking at him though. He saw that the teen had a pained look on his face and Nai could see that his face had a few tears streaking it.

Nai frowned in concern. His concern turned to fear, however, when Gareki began thrashing and whimpering in terror. The albino didn't know what nightmares were but he did know that Gareki wasn't all right. Nai dashed over to Yogi's sleeping form and tried to wake him up (tried being the key word in this case).

He tried shaking Yogi. He tried pulling on his hair (gently, of course). He tried yanking the older man's blankets off. He finally decided to say something, "Yogi," he whined frantically, "Yogi! Something's wrong with Gareki! He's making upset sounds and won't stay still! Yo–eep!" Apparently, all Nai had to do was talk about Gareki.

The blonde/silver-haired man shot up and screeched, "WHAT?!"

Nai had jumped back a few feet at Yogi's sudden movement but in answer to the loud question he stepped forward again and said, "U-um, Gareki…somethings wrong with Garek-" Again he was cut off by Yogi reaction. This time Yogi leapt up and dashed to the bunk bed. He put one foot on the third step (out of four!), grabbed onto the railing and hoisted himself up.

Gareki was definitely having a nightmare. By now his face was soaked in tears and he was shaking violently. Yogi sighed sadly. "Gareki," he shook the boy's shoulder in an attempt to wake him up, "Gareki wake up. Wake up, Gareki. Come on…"

Finally, the teen forced his eyes open and gasped for air. He slowly pushed himself into a sitting position and sat there panting and trembling. "N-nii-chan," Gareki leaned his head against his brother's shoulder, and sobbed, "Wh-why Nii-chan? Why do I a-always have to r-remember? It's so scary to remember. I don't w-want to remember."

Yogi gently wrapped his arms around the younger boy and softly stroked his hair as he murmured, "Shh…it's okay Gareki-kun. Nii-chan's here. I'm here. It's all right. Shh…I know. I know…" Yogi rocked back and forth, slowly so as not to fall off his precarious perch on the edge of the bunk.

Eventually Gareki fell back asleep, feeling much better now that his brother had chased all the scary stuff away. Yogi sighed and held the tired teen closer to him and whispered sadly, "I wish I could make it go away Gareki-kun. I'm sorry."

After Yogi had laid Gareki back onto the bed and tucked him in (quite happily, I might add; Gareki hardly ever let himself be tucked in; it was too childish for his taste), he noticed that Nai was standing stock still in the same position he had been in when Yogi had rushed to his brother's aid. He chuckled, leapt down from the upper bunk and patted the startled boy's head as he said, "Are you all right, Nai-chan? I hope Gareki-kun's nightmare didn't scare you…eh?" The poor albino had begun to weep a little and Yogi was frantically trying to calm him down, "Wh-what's wrong, Nai-chan? Are you hurt? Did I scare you? Are you worried about Gareki? Cause if you are, you don't need to be! He's fine, just a little shaken up is all."

Nai hiccupped and rubbed his eyes, "Re-really? Is Gareki really okay?" He clutched his hands together tightly, "He seemed so…scared. What was wrong with him?"

"Ummm…well, you see," Yogi knelt down so he could look in Nai's ruby red eyes, "When Gareki was little, he had some things happen to him and now that he is older…" the man crossed his legs and plopped down on the floor, "Those things are beginning to be more painful for him. He's suffering because of his past and there is nothing I can do to help…" Yogi trailed off and sighed dejectedly.

Nai blinked in surprise (he hadn't ever seen Yogi look depressed) before attempting to lift the other's mood a bit, "Y-you can make him feel better afterward, right?" The pale child sat down next to his friend and gave him a slightly worried look, "Don't be upset Yogi. Gareki definitely needs you!"

Yogi coughed to cover up his laughter (he wasn't really that upset but he figured it would be nice to humor the boy), "Thank you, Nai-chan! I feel much better now!" He leapt to his feet, pumped his fists into the air and beamed down at Nai.

The boy grinned back gratefully and also jumped up, "Good!" He then adopted a look of mild confusion, tilted his head to one side and laid a finger on his chin as he asked inquisitively, "What should we do now? Gareki should get as much sleep as he can, but we don't have anything to do."

The two boys thought earnestly for a few minutes. Then Yogi had a brilliant idea. He would introduce Nai to the _Nya Nya Song_. He quickly grabbed hold of Nai's arm and dashed out of the guest room. He had noticed a library when he had been looking for a hiding spot the other day and figured that it would have a computer. If not he would hunt down Hirato and ask him for one.

As it turned out, the library did have a computer and the only other person in it was Jiki, who had gotten up early to get a little reading done before it was time to eat breakfast. The charcoal-haired boy wasn't happy to see the other two barging in but once he saw that Gareki wasn't with them he was okay with them disturbing his peace for a bit.

Yogi gave Jiki a polite nod and smile before seating himself at the computer and quickly finding the song he wanted (and just to make things more interesting the version he clicked on was a ten hour loop). He pulled Nai over and started the song at full blast.

At first Nai didn't know what to make of it but after listening to the main track a few times he began to bob slowly to the beat. It took ten rounds to get him actually dancing to the ridiculous song. Yogi laughed and clapped him on while Jiki ran from the room screaming. The poor dark-haired combatant happened to run right into Hirato (who had been in his office when the racket started up and came to see what was causing it). Instead of stopping and apologizing, like he usually would have, Jiki just jumped back up and continued down the hall until he reached his room (where he pulled out a pair of earplugs he kept handy and shoved them into his head to block out the repetitive track).

Hirato was rather surprised at the reaction but didn't pay attention to it for very long. He chose instead to watch his two guests dance around the room gleefully (Yogi had joined Nai halfway through the fifteenth repeat). The captain's observation was cut short, however, when a certain obnoxious red-head came barreling into the library, quickly typed something into the computer (cutting off the _Nya Nya Song_ , much to Yogi and Nai's vocal consternation) and began to play his favorite 'repeat' song, _Ievan Polka_. When it began this he grinned triumphantly at Yogi and Nai and said (or, rather, shouted to be heard over the music), "I challenge you to a 'REPETITIVE SONG CHALLENGE'! You and I have to find five songs set on a repeat loop and play them and who ever doesn't give in, meaning they are able to take the repetitiveness of the song in question longer than their opponent, gets a point. Since we have both found one song, we only have to find four others. You get the first point because I wasn't gonna be able to take any more of that _Nya Nya Song_ , it was starting to grate on my nerves and I get a point for _Ievan Polka_ because you complained about it. So? Do you accept my challenge?" Yogi's eyes flashed bright red as he gave a feral grin and a nod. Tsukitachi motioned at the computer allowing his opponent a moment to find his next song.

Yogi picked the Nightcore version of _Pika Girl_ and Tsukitachi picked _Aftermath-Go to Sleep_. They both won points (Yogi was too freaked out by the red-head's pick and the other felt like his head was about explode if he listened to another minute of a hyper Pikachu going 'PiiiiKA!') and continued to pick various songs until they reached the final round. They each had four points, were panting like dogs, and could barely hear anything over the ringing in their heads. Tsukitachi's final pick was the Nightcore version of _Stamp on the Ground_ (which he lost, surprisingly) and the song he had to withstand in order to at least make it a tie was Yogi's choice of _Stop Nagging Me_. The poor red-head only lasted two repeats before screeching at the top of his lungs and running out of the room, similarly to how Jiki escaped hours ago. Yogi jumped up from his seat and let out a victory bellow (he turned the song off first though; it was beginning to grate on his nerves). Nai dropped the pillows he had been using to block out the noise and clapped happily while Hirato pulled out his earbuds (playing beautiful classical music) and chuckled at the craziness of his subordinate and strange guest.

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 **I hope all of you had a good Thanksgiving and wish you a Merry Christmas!**

 **Don't forget to leave a review! :)**

 **Thanks again for reading! Love ya'll! XD**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello everyone! Sorry for the late update ( I HATE writer's block ), but I hope these two chapters make up for my absence! I know this one is short but #7 is literally one click away so don't worry.**

 **To Kiscia and Superrbia: Glad you liked chapter five (sorry about the filler, I was bored and listening to those stupid songs anyway XP) and I hope you like these two! (Btw, Kiscia: Here's Akari for ya!) :)**

 **To Masked guest: Your review about Gareki's past gave me the inspiration for chapter 7 so I hope you enjoy it! XD**

 **So, without further ado, I present Chapter 6: Blackmail**

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"GYAAAAAAAH! I FELL ASLEEP!" Akari-sensei screeched at the top of his lungs. It was around noon (just a few hours after Yogi and Tsukitachi's competition came to a close) and he had been sleeping the whole time. Plus, when he finally did wake up he noticed that his patient was _missing_ and 'El Diablo' (aka: Circus Captain Hirato) was smirking at him evilly.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Akari-san," Hirato purred silkily, "I hope you had a nice na-"

"WHERE IS NAI?!" Akari interrupted as he leapt out of his chair, nearly falling to the floor in the process. Thankfully (well actually…I suppose 'much to his humiliation' works a little better in this case), Hirato caught his arm and righted the pink-haired man quickly. So quickly, that Akari almost doubted that he had fallen in the first place. He brusquely brushed the captain away before growling angrily, "Answer my question…and…thanks." The captain's chuckle stabbed the doctor's pride right in the gut.

"He's in the library with Yogi," Hirato crossed his arms and smirked again, "Gareki hasn't shown up yet, but they are definitely enjoying themselves. When I left them, Yogi was reading out loud to Nai. I believe it was a fairy tale of some kind."

"Is Nai feeling all right?" Akari made for the door, only to be stopped when Hirato slammed his hand against it, keeping it closed, "What do you want, Hirato?" The doctor growled angrily. All he wanted to do was check on his patient and run a few tests to see if everything was working right, yet this annoying oaf wouldn't let him leave!

"Oh, come now, Akari-san," Hirato purred, it had been ages since he had gotten dirt on the pink-haired physician, "I just wanted to know if you would take care of some of my paperwork."

"Why should I?!" Akari snarled at his former student.

"Because if you don't," he rooted around in his pocket for a bit before pulling out a smartphone and fiddling with the screen until he found what he wanted, "I'll send these adorable photos of you to everyone in my contacts list." The grinning captain held his phone up, revealing a multitude of pictures all featuring Akari. The only problem with the pictures was that he was asleep. And curled up with the blanket Nai had draped across his shoulders. And drooling. And smiling contentedly.

Akari blushed beet red and stuttered in embarrassment, "H-h-how?!"

"How what, Akari-san?" Hirato practically died as he strained to keep from laughing out loud.

"How did you get those pictures?!"

"Well, you were just lying there and I saw a thought it would be a good time for a photo op. Look at this one!" He tapped on one particularly interesting picture and held it up for the still blushing doctor to see.

Akari nearly keeled over and died right then and there. Apparently Hirato had messed with the poor doctor before taking this picture. In it Akari was cuddling a small cat-like stuffed animal (it was called Nyanperona; it also happened to be one of Yogi's favorite things on the face of the planet, not counting Gareki of course) and Hirato had had the audacity to edit the photo so that there were words running along the top and bottom of the screen. The words read, 'Even dedicated doctors need to take naps with their teddy bears sometimes. Especially hard-working pink-haired ones such as myself! '

That did it. Akari's formerly tomato colored face instantly paled at the thought of anyone getting a glimpse of him acting in such a lackadaisical manner. Hirato had seen him like that a few times (either because the captain had gotten lucky and stumbled upon the doctor during his random bouts of ineptitude or because Hirato, usually accompanied by a certain drunken red-head, had purposefully done something to ruffle the good doctor's feathers) but people like Hirato's brother and Akari's teacher (both of whom were in close contact with the young captain, just in case their favorite victim slipped up and showed a side other than his 'WORK IS LIFE!' mentality) he respected and had no intention of allowing such 'fluffiness' (as Iva liked to say) to roam out and about.

"I give," Akari muttered angrily, "Put what you want me to do on the desk." He then looked Hirato directly in the eye and growled, "However, I get to delete all of the pictures. If you do not agree to this term I will tell your brother about the time that you fell asleep in class, slept through the day and only woke up when you had a nightmare that was so bad you actually had to have me walk you back to your dorm roo-"

"Fine," Hirato paled slightly and handed the doctor his phone grudgingly, "But only those photos, all right?" Akari nodded hurriedly before quickly removing all offensive pictures. He had just deleted the last one when the door behind Hirato was flung open.

"Akari-sensei! Is Nai awake!? Is he all right?!" Gareki stormed into the infirmary, his hair amusingly disheveled since he had just woken up. Hirato would have laughed at the teen's appearance if his back hadn't been stinging in pain from Gareki's unintentional attack.

Akari chuckled lightly before saying, "Yes, he is awake and, yes, he is all right."

"Why are you so worried?" Hirato huffed as he rubbed his aching back, "You just met him didn't you? I didn't exactly take you as the type to have attachment issues."

Gareki laughed sheepishly, "Some things happened when I was little so I tend to worry a lot about the people close to me. Plus that's how Nii-chan taught me to act toward my friends."

The two older men frowned at him. Even though the boy had seeming brushed off what he had said, both the doctor and the captain caught his odd tone of voice, "What do you mean by 'some things,' Gareki-kun? And why would your brother be teaching you how to act? Isn't that usually a job for your parents?" Hirato asked him quietly.

The dark-haired teen grimaced but wouldn't look at them, "Does it matter?"

Akari raised an eye brow and said, "Not particularly, but whatever happened to you is obviously bothering you, so why not try opening up about it? As for your brother, you obviously adore him. Why not tell us about you two?" Hirato nodded in agreement.

Gareki closed the infirmary door behind him and leaned against it as he folded his arms across his chest. After he had collected himself a bit, he looked up at the two Circus members and began to talk.


	7. Chapter 7

**Here's Chapter 7: Brothers**

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My earliest memory is from before I met Yogi. I think I was around seven, maybe eight. I remember being locked in a small cage and feeling scared and upset because I didn't really know what was going on. Later I found out that I was in there because I had just been sold to slave trading group. I don't remember its name or what any of the members looked like though. I think I also remember originally being sold by my parents, but I'm not entirely sure.

Most of what happened next is a bit hazier. They kept me in that cage for a couple months (according to them I hadn't been tamed enough for a real master just yet) and only let me out when they needed to make sure that I was still in proper working order or simply to beat some sense into me, as they seemed to be fond of saying, whenever I happened to misbehave.

After they had decided that I was good enough to be put on the market I was let out of my cage and put on board a ship headed to a town they called Rinoll. There were about thirty other children headed to the same place. Three of them I ended up becoming friends with. They were a group of siblings who had been sold by their parents. I think their names were Tsubaki, who was the oldest, and Tsubame and Yotaka, who were twins. They were all really nice and I enjoyed their company.

I wasn't able to be with them for very long though. By the time the ship first stopped to restock, all three of them were dead. Tsubaki and Yotaka were the first to go. There was a sailor, named Meiga, who took a liking to Tsubaki, but when she refused his advances he beat her to death. Yotaka died trying to save her from him. Tsubame didn't last for long after Yotaka died. No one actually killed her; she just stopped eating and died of starvation and a broken heart.

When the ship did make it to port for supplies another group of slaves was taken on as well. These kids were a lot older and meaner. And since I was the youngest I ended up being picked on the worst. Their favorite torture technique was to tie me up, blindfold me and push me around until I either fell or ran into something hard enough to knock me out. If I did end up falling they would have the pleasure of kicking me unconscious. Either way I ended up with bruises and/or cuts scattered across my body. I still have some of the scars from that.

By the time we got to our next stop, which happened to be Karasuna, I was convinced that I needed to escape before those stupid bullies killed me in my sleep. The ship anchored at night and all of the guards and sailors had gone ashore to have a bit of 'fun' before they had to go back to work. It was then that I made my 'daring' escape. It wasn't too difficult though. The upper deck was practically abandoned and the kids with me in the lower deck were either sound asleep or too depressed to care about someone other than themselves.

I quickly crossed over from my position against the wall to the hatch leading out onto the deck. Unfortunately, one of the guards had thought ahead and settled something heavy on top of it so no one could get out. I wasn't too happy about that but just when I was about to give up, I remembered a small open porthole, which had always been our only source of light during the whole trip, stationed on the starboard side that was only about five feet off the ground. I tiptoed over to it and reached my hands up. If I jumped a little and stretched as tall as I could, I was able to grab onto the ledge and pull myself up high enough to shove my elbows through. By the time I got my head and shoulders through I was very, very glad that we weren't given much to eat. If I had been much bigger than I already was, I wouldn't have fit all the way through.

When I did make it through the porthole, I fell down into the frigid water and swam to the nearest beach. Once I felt sand, I took off running as fast as I possibly could. I ran until I went past the beach and through the forest that followed it.

After I got out of the forest, I nearly killed myself when I tripped over the gravel road that seemed to just appear out of nowhere. That was when I met Yogi. He had happened to be walking home from his job and I ran right into him. Thankfully, he caught me and kept himself upright as well. I think I passed out after that because the next thing I remember is waking up at the place I would later call my home.

"Oh, good! You're awake!" Yogi said when he noticed I had opened my eyes, "I was kind of worried when you came bustin' out of the trees, at full tilt no less! Are you running away from someone?" At first I didn't really know what to make of him. He was a total stranger, only a few years older than myself actually, and he had the guts to ask if I was running away from someone? I was utterly astounded. So I just kept quiet, thinking that maybe if I ignored him he would either leave me alone or tell me to go. As it turned out, he did neither. Instead, he sighed and said, "Ah well, it's all right kiddo. You don't have to talk if you don't wanna. I won't push you. I would like to know your name though!" He gave me one of the biggest, brightest most genuine smiles I had ever seen and leaned forward in anticipation, as if I was about to reveal some incredible secret.

 _He doesn't seem to be such a bad guy,_ I thought as he waited. After a little bit I slowly sat up and whispered, "I don't have one."

That was the first time I had ever seen anyone cry for me. Tears welled up in his eyes, which I later noticed to be a rather odd shade of reddish-violet, and he began to wail, "WAAAAH! You poor thing!" He grabbed my shoulders after he said this and pulled me into a slightly too tight hug, "Don't worry! I'll give you a name! Hmm," he leaned back, allowing me a little room to breathe, and thought for a bit before leaning forward again and happily saying, "I know! Gareki! The _ga_ means 'flower' and the _reki_ means 'gravel' or 'pebble.' Kind of like the saying, 'diamond in the rough,' right?" He giggled happily and hugged me again, "My name is Yogi! Nice ta meet cha'!" Again, I was utterly stunned and didn't really know how to respond.

"U-um…Gareki?" I said the unfamiliar word carefully, "I-I guess it's all right," I pushed him back a little and looked up at his face, "So, you're Yogi? I-it's nice to meet you too. Uh…where are we?"

"Ah!" He stood to his feet and stooped to help me up, "You're in a town called Karasu-"

"I know what town is called," I crossed my arms and huffed childishly, "I meant, where are we right now? How far away is this place from the beach?" I was still concerned that I could possibly be found and taken back to the slave ship.

Yogi noticed my anxiety and kneeled down so he could talk to me face to face, even though he couldn't have been that much older than me, he was definitely taller. He whispered softly, "Why the beach? Is that the place you're running away from?" He spoke in a soft tone of voice that had never before been directed at me. I had heard Tsubame and Yotaka talk to one another like that other than that it was new to me. Yet at the same time, it made tears prick at the corners of my eyes. I tried to blink them back but I couldn't hold them in any longer.

Tears poured down my face and my slight, hunger-stricken frame shook with barely contained sobs. Yogi wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his strong, but very gentle, embrace. I'm sure he must have been beyond confused at why I was crying but he took it all in stride and simply sat there, rocking me back and forth as he whispered, "It's all right," over and over until I finally calmed down. Even after I had stopped crying, he still held me. All I could do was take shuddering breaths and cling to him in desperation. Eventually, he gave a light chuckle and asked, "Feel better now, Gareki-kun?" I sniffled and nodded into his chest. "Good," he said happily, "Are you hungry?" Again I nodded, this time pulling back and allowing him to rub the wetness off my face. "I'll go get you something to eat, okay?" I nodded but then frowned realizing that he would have to get up and leave me to 'get me something,' as he had said. I quickly shook my head and hugged him tighter. He was the first person I had ever met that had made me feel safe. And protected. And cared for. I didn't want him to ever leave.

Yogi was a little surprised at first but then he smiled at me and patted my back lightly, "It's okay, Gareki-kun. I'm not going too far away. I promise," he was quiet for a moment but, after seeing that I wasn't going to let go anytime soon, he began to speak again, "How about this? You come with me to the kitchen and I'll get you something to eat. Is that okay with you?"

I grumbled for a bit before mumbling, "Yes…" He laughed and helped me to my feet. I clutched at his sleeve and followed him into the small kitchenette. He opened the mini-fridge wedged in a corner and searched around in it for a bit. After a while he emerged with some sliced meat, bread and cheese. He then gently pried my fingers from his arm and began to make two large sandwiches. When he was finished I stared wide-eyed at the stacks of food. Never in my entire life had I ever even seen that much food. He placed the sandwiches on plates and carried them over to the makeshift table he had apparently set up in place of a real one. Once he set them down, he scrambled around looking for a second seat. Finally, he 'aha'ed and raised a small wooden crate in triumph. He flipped it on its head and set it down for me to sit on.

We sat down opposite each other and he said, "Dig in, Gareki-kun! I hope you like it!" I did. It was probably the best sandwich I would ever eat. When I had finished devouring every last crumb, I wiped my mouth and looked at Yogi through my scruffy fringe of hair. He was watching me with amusement, as he had the entire time I was acting like a starved animal, and I couldn't help but notice his oddly colored hair and the beautiful hue of his eyes. He must have notice my observations because he pushed his plate to the side and leaned on the table, his head resting in one of his hands, "Will you tell me what happened now?" I nodded and proceeded to explain where I came from, what had happened to me and why I had run away from the ship.

Yogi frowned in anger when he heard that I had been on a slave ship. He didn't interrupt me but I could feel the air around him grow icy cold as I continued to tell my story. When I finished he slammed his fist onto the table, breaking it in two, and swore furiously. I had jumped when the table snapped and the first thing that went through my head was that he was mad at me; that I had done something wrong by telling him everything. Fear must have shown on my face because when he happened to glance back at me his angry expression immediately softened and he murmured, "I'm sorry," as he stretched out a hand to brush my cheek, "Don't worry, I'm not upset with you. I'm mad at the people who did this to you." He took on a pained look as he gently caressed my face, "You're just a little boy. How could they do this to you?" I leaned into his warm hand as my eyelids drooped wearily. I didn't know why but this stranger seemed to have some kind of lulling effect on my hyperactive adrenaline system. Before, I had relied on the fear of what the bullies could do to me while I was out to keep me awake. Now that I had nothing to be afraid of I was beginning to come off of my forced adrenaline high and sleep was finally calling. I think he might have said something else but I was already dead to the world and wouldn't hear another thing until the next day.

Ӂ-Ӂ-Ӂ

When I finally did wake up, I saw that it was still early in the morning and that while I was asleep Yogi had moved me to a different spot. At first I panicked because I couldn't see the odd boy but when I noticed that he was simply sleeping on the floor next to the bed I was on I calmed down. Then I realized that I was on the only type of cushioned furniture in the whole room. I felt bad about making the person who saved me sleep on the cold floor so I tried to lift him up and onto the bed where I had been laying; tried being the key word in this case. I failed miserably.

Yogi awoke with an 'Oof' when he slipped from my hands and fell back to the floor.

"A-are you o-okay?" I stuttered helplessly, "I'm sorry, I was just trying to move you to the bed instead of the ground…" I trailed off a bit feeling like an idiot.

Yogi just chuckled happily and said, "Don't worry! I appreciate the effort, but I kind of like sleeping on the floor!" He got to his knees and, with sparkling eyes, continued, "It makes me feel like I'm on a secret mission and that if I get up I'll be captured by the bad guys!" The sheer stupidity of what he had just said made me laugh.

"That's the first time you've smiled," he reached out and gently brushed a lock of my hair away from my eyes so he could see them clearer, "I'm glad you're feeling better."

My face turned beet red but I didn't move away, "Th-thank you f-for helping me…" I fiddled with a stray thread on my tattered shirt and looked at my feet, "I don't know what would have happened if someone else had found me."

Yogi smiled and said, "Your welcome, Gareki-kun. I have a feeling anyone else in this rotten town," he spat with a slight frown before looking back at me with sympathy, "Would have sent you back to the ship in exchange for a lucrative reward." He leaned back against the wall behind him and sighed, "The people here aren't nice, Gareki-kun," his gaze hardened a bit and I could tell that he had seen just how depraved these people could be. "Do you have anywhere to go, Gareki-kun?" When I shook my head 'no' he grinned again and said, "Well then, why don't you stay with me? I can be your Nii-chan and you'll be my little brother!"

I blinked at him in surprise, "Nii-chan? What does that mean?" I had never heard those words before.

Yogi also blinked in surprise, before shaking it off and answering my question, "Nii-chan means 'big brother.' The longer, more proper, way of saying it is, 'Onii-san.' But that sounds stiff and unfriendly, so just calling me 'Nii-chan' is much better!"

I tilted my head to the side and tested out the new word, "Nii-chan…so if I call you that you'll become my big brother?" He laughed and nodded happily. My face must have lit up like a Christmas tree, I was so happy. I leapt forward and threw my arms around his neck. He laughed again as he stood before swinging me around in the air.

That was the start of our life as brothers. We went through some hard times but Yogi was, and is, always there for me. He taught me everything I know. He's my best friend, my mentor, my teacher, my…everything.

* * *

 **Hope ya'll liked these two chapters! I couldn't decide if I wanted to write one long chapter or two slightly shorter ones. I figured it would be a bit easier on anyone who doesn't particularly long chapters and would be adequate for those who like longer ones because this one was right after it...ugh, I'm sorry, I talk/type waaaaaay too much! XP**

 **Anyway, thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll leave me a review! I really love hearing your opinions and/or comments!**

 **Oh, and if anyone has any questions feel free to ask. I would really like to know if anything I wrote either doesn't make sense or is confusing.**

 **Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Love ya'll! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry for the wait!**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

 **Chapter 8: Animal**

* * *

Hirato and Akari stared at the dark-haired teen lazily slouched against the door in front of them. They glanced at each other and looked back at him. Hirato cleared his throat and said softly, "I see. I suppose that explains a lot, doesn't it, Akari-san?"

The pink-haired doctor nodded slowly before gently patting Gareki's dark hair. He didn't usually show much affection for people, but he felt that the situation was appropriate. The teen looked up at him through his bangs and blinked a few times before smirking a little. Akari smiled back and said, "I suppose it does, Hirato." He then crossed his arms and bobbed his head up and down quickly, "Now then, why don't you go find Nai, and I'll finish running a few more tests on him."

Gareki gave another small smile and said, "All right." He pulled open the door and ran directly into Yogi's chest; he 'oofed' and stumbled back. He would have fallen over had Yogi not caught his shoulder and steadied him.

"Whoa there, kiddo! Why are you in such an all-fire hurry?" The blonde/silver-haired man laughed lightly and ruffled his little brother's hair, earning a happy sounding squawk of indignation.

"Is Nai with you, Nii-chan?" Gareki asked.

The red-eyed boy in question poked his head around Yogi and waved with a grin, "Hi Gareki! What's wrong?"

Akari answered him by saying, "I asked Gareki to find you so that I can run a few more tests. Just to make sure that you're going to be all right."

"Oh, okay!" Nai skipped happily into the lab and leapt onto the bed, giggling when he bounced up a bit. Akari shooed the three observers out and went began the process of hooking his joyful patient to all his machines.

Ӂ-Ӂ-Ӂ

Out in the hall Yogi took Gareki's arm and said to Hirato, "Well, we should let you get back to work, Hirato-san. See you later!" With that he started walking quickly back to the room they had been given. He wanted to talk to Gareki for a bit and figured that their room was the best place to do so.

When they arrived, Yogi opened the door and motioned for Gareki to sit down. Gareki did, but asked, "What's wrong, Nii-chan?"

"I want you to tell me about your nightmare." Yogi crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

The teen stiffened, his face turning scarlet, "Wh-why? It was just some stupid nightmare…"

Yogi came over and sat down next to him, "You may say that, but I know better," he nudged his little brother's shoulder and gave him a kind smile, "Tell me. Please?"

"Haah…" Gareki sighed before closing his eyes and slouched heavily against Yogi, "It was dark. And I heard a lot of screaming and crying. Everything was foggy but for some reason I still felt like I could see clearly. I was back on the ship." He shuddered and curled up closer to his brother, desperate to forget the horrors he had been forced to re-experience.

Yogi wrapped his arms around the boy and gently rocked him back and forth, "Shh…it's all right. They will never hurt you again. I promise." The two brothers talked for a while longer (about random things, mostly in order to get their minds off all the heavy stuff) and eventually the subject of Nai came up.

"I really feel sorry for him, Nii-chan. He lost the only person he thought of as family, and he was kidnapped by Mine's minions. He must have been scared." Gareki was letting his head hang over the side of the bed while Yogi leaned up against the wall.

"Mm. Me too," Yogi closed his eyes and spoke quietly, "I'm really glad we came across him when we did. If he had made it into that mansion…" he trailed off with a frown.

"Yeah," Gareki sat up and nodded in agreement. He then tilted his head to the side before saying, "Hey, wanna go explore?" Yogi immediately perked up. He adopted a puppy dog look of excitement and bobbed his head happily. "Then let's go!"

Ӂ-Ӂ-Ӂ

They didn't get very far. At one point in their explorations they came across a large arch way. Gareki poked his head around the side as Yogi slowly tiptoed down the unknown hall, Gareki followed after being given the all clear. That was when they ran into trouble. Big trouble.

"That area is off-limits, baa. That area is off-limits, meep." A sheep and a bunny appeared behind them, bleating and meeping in consternation. Unfortunately, our two (slightly idiotic) boys ignored the warning and bravely proceeded onward.

"Don't worry, Sheep-san, Bunny-san!" Yogi waved over his shoulder and gave the small critters a lopsided smirk.

Gareki leaned his head back and finished his big brother's thought, "We're just taking a quick look."

"It's off limits, baa! It's off limits, meep! It's off limits, baa! It's off limits, meep! It's off limits, baa! It's off limits, meep! It's off limits, baa! It's off limits, meep! It's off limits, baa! It's off limits, meep! It's off limits, baa! It's off limits, meep! It's off limits, baa! It's off limits, meep! It's off limits, baa! It's off limits, meep!" The brothers turned around to shout, 'SHUT UP!' but they were interrupted by the sight of a large multitude of sheep and bunnies. They both yelped as the critters lifted them off the ground and bounced them in the air. The creatures never stopped loudly bleating and meeping in alarm. Eventually (i.e. four or five minutes later), Tsukumo and Tsukitachi happened to come across them while they were still being tossed in the air. They quickly saved the pair of brothers and set them back down on solid ground. Yogi was feeling traumatized and Gareki was attempting to get over the shock of the whole thing.

Tsukitachi laughed loudly at their confusion before saying, "Serves ya right!" He slapped Yogi's back (making him screech and cling to Gareki in terror) and cackled like a witch, "Ya better listen to the sheep and bunnies! They protect and take care of the Ship so I wouldn't recommend gettin' on their bad side!"

Gareki stuttered out a scoff and said, "N-no kidding." He was hanging on to Yogi just as tightly. He finally loosened his grip and was able to pull both himself and Yogi back into a standing position.

As soon as he did, however, Jiki ran up and panted out, "A-akari-sensei wants everyone to come to the lab. Apparently something really _is_ wrong with that little white-haired bra-" He was cut off by a hand wrapping around his throat.

Gareki, the hand's owner, snarled and spat out, "Finish that sentence and die, Jiki." The teen shoved the older boy to the side and took off to go see Nai. Yogi yelped again and scurried to follow him.

Ӂ-Ӂ-Ӂ

Gareki burst into Akari's office and shouted, "What's wrong with Nai?!"

Akari and Nai jumped at his sudden appearance. When Nai noticed who the intruder was, he smiled widely and leapt to give his friend a hug. Akari on the other hand, wasn't nearly as excited, "Nothing's wrong Gareki," he huffed and dragged Nai back to his examination table, "Jiki must have been trying to rile you up if he made it sound like something was wrong." The doctor beckoned Gareki over and began to explain (he figured that he would tell Hirato and Tsukitachi about it later), "Although I said there isn't anything wrong, I suppose it kind of depends on one's point of view-"

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH HIM?!"

"Calm down! The tests I took show evidence of the fact that, instead of being a normal human, Nai is in actuality an animal." Akari crossed his arms and looked at the teen expectantly.

Gareki stared at him. He glanced at his brother (who appeared to, once again, be panicking) and turned his attention back to the pink-haired man. "You don't have a very good sense of humor, Akari-sensei."

"I'm not teasing," Akari growled and glared at the boy.

"You must be."

"I'm not."

"That's impossible."

"What is? That I'm not joking or that Nai is an animal?"

"Both."

"…"

"Now, Akari-sensei, please tell me the truth. I can take it."

"I was telling the truth."

"You couldn't have been."

"I was."

"You weren't."

"I was."

"You weren't."

"I was."

"You weren't."

"I weren't."

"You was…ah! HEY!" Gareki blushed furiously and shook his fist at the chuckling doctor.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it," Akari wiped his eyes and continued, "As I was saying, when I was examining the results from the tests I ran on him, I realized that the DNA and tissue samples I took from him were similar to a rather rare animal from a place called the Rainbow Forest (or Niji Forest)," Akari pulled a book off his shelf and flipped it open to a certain page, "The animal he seemed similar to is called a Niji," he held up the book, showing Gareki a cute little creature that looked like a mouse crossed with a chipmunk, "This is what it looks like."

Gareki was speechless, as were Yogi and Hirato (who had happened to walk in during the doctor's explanation). Two minutes later they all said, "Seriously?!"

"Seriously."

* * *

 **Please review! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**...I have no excuses for my actions. DX**

 **ANYWAY, I'm back and hope to post more regularly now.**

 **Enjoy Chapter 9: Rainbow Forest**

 **(Disclaimer: Once again, I'm using parts directly from the manga. I don't own any of what I'm using. It's purely for entertainment purposes.)**

* * *

Hirato walked over to the doctor and frowned at him, "Please tell me you are joking, Akari-san."

"I don't joke, Hirato. Surely by now you should know that." Akari-sensei stood and crossed his arms, "I'm being serious. Nai isn't a human. Or at least not originally. He was born as a creature called a Niji, most likely from a land called the Rainbow Forest. I don't know who created him, or for what purpose, but they certainly did a spectacular job."

The tall captain frowned again and gave Akari one of his 'looks' (as Tsukitachi likes to call it), "I don't believe you."

The doctor sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes as he said, "I don't care if you believe me or not. All I am doing is stating the facts." He grabbed a handful of papers with various graphs and numbers on them and held them out to Hirato, "Here! See for yourself."

The dark-haired man grumbled in frustration, but waved Akari off, saying, "If you're going to be that adamant about it you must be telling the truth." He paused and gave Nai a quick once-over, "So? Now what? Does this information help us at all?"

"Not really, no. But it may assist Nai in his search for this Karoku person. If we know where he came from, we may be able to find some clues to his whereabouts."

Nai leapt to his feet at the mention of Karoku's name and skipped excitedly over to Gareki and Yogi, "That's good, right, Gareki? Clues? Clues are good, right?" Gareki chuckled and nodded quietly. He didn't want to mention that a) there may not be any clues, b) the clues may lead to a dead end, or c) the clues may lead them to the conclusion that Karoku is, in fact, dead and Nai will never see him again. _I should probably keep that to myself though,_ Gareki thought with a small grimace.

At this point, Jiki joined the group and happened to hear what Nai had just said. Feeling a little left out of the conversation, he puffed out his chest and snorted pompously, "Clues aren't always good, kid. They may lead to dead ends or even tell you that your precious _Karoku_ is dead as a door nail, if there's any clues at all, that is…" Jiki trailed off triumphantly, expecting praise for his logical thought process.

Boy was he surprised when Hirato gave him a swat upside the head, growling, "I think that's enough out of you, young man. Go read in the library, or something." When Jiki sullenly obeyed, Hirato looked at Nai and said, "Don't worry, Nai-kun. I'm sure your friend is going to be just fine. Jiki was just trying to upset you. We'll head to Rainbow Forest first thing tomorrow morning all right?"

Nai kept his eyes hidden beneath his bangs but nodded politely, "Thank you, Hirato-san." He whispered quietly. Gareki gently pulled on his shoulder and led him back to the guest room. Yogi followed at a short distance.

When they got back, Nai sniffled once and burst into tears, "I-I'm never g-gonna see Ka-karoku agaaaain! Waaaaaah!" He buried his face in his hands and sobbed. Gareki tried to be encouraging, but nothing he said went past Nai's despair. Eventually, the dark-haired boy simply picked him up like he was a toddler and carried him to the bottom bunk. He sat down on the edge of it and hugged his small friend tightly.

"Shhh…it's going to be okay, Nai. Everything is going to be okay." The teen looked desperately at Yogi for help and was extraordinarily relieved when Yogi sat down next to them and began to sing softly. It wasn't in a language either of the younger boys understood but it had a calming effect on Nai and it reminded Gareki of all the times Yogi had sung the same thing to him after a nightmare had sent him over the edge. Yogi had never told Gareki was the song meant but he knew the lyrics by heart:

 _Hoshi ni yuuki ni kioku ni_

 _Kimi no ashiato sagasu_

 _Douka towa no yasuragi_

 _Koko wa yume no tochuu de_

 _Osanai tsubasa de sakamichi kaketeku_

 _Michi kara hagurete kono me o tojiteku_

 _Hoshi ni yuuki ni kioku ni_

 _Kimi no ashiato sagasu_

 _Douka towa no yasuragi_

 _Koko wa yume no tochuu de_

 _Itsuka subete modorite_

 _Sora no hate hitorikiri_

 _Anata ga matsu yasuragi_

 _Hikari no ato nokoshite_

 _Osanai tsubasa de sakamichi kaketeku_

 _Michi kara hagurete kono me o tojiteku_

 _Yume ni ai ni kokoro ni_

 _Kimi no ashiato sagasu_

 _Towa no hikari nokoshite_

 _Yurugi no nai tsubasa de_

When Yogi was finished singing, Gareki laid Nai down on his bed. The child had fallen asleep during the last verse and, while he was still sniffling a little, he had calmed down considerably. Gareki sighed quietly and, as he stood up, whispered to Yogi, "Why don't we let him sleep for a bit? It's been a long couple of days and he deserves some rest."

"Mm…" Yogi smiled gently at the resting child and nodded at his younger brother, "You haven't seen the library yet, have you? Why don't we go there?"

"All right."

Ӂ-The Next Day-Rainbow Forest-Ӂ

Akari-sensei flipped through his handful of technical papers and began describing the group's mission. "Now then, we will begin making out way to our goal, 'Karoku's house.' As of this moment we only have Nai's senses and memory as our guide, but we will make use of these things." He held up something that appeared to be a kind of pointy whistle and continued, "They are called sound markers. As we move through the forest, we'll use them to mark our path back."

One of the research assistants raised their hand to ask a question. When Akari-sensei nodded at them, they said, "What exactly do they do, Sensei?"

"Good question. The environs of the Rainbow forest are highly unusual. The plant life of this area has developed a cellular makeup that incorporates light-reflecting properties. Since the forest is on an island, there is a large amount of water particles in the air. Between the particles and the evolved plants, there can be a great deal of light refraction in the air, which results in a large number of rainbows. Hence, the name Rainbow Forest." He paused and shifted his stance, "This phenomenon doesn't only occur in the sky, however. The refraction is known to create mirages on the ground as well. We will have to be very careful to not fully rely on our eyes, because in this forest, sight cannot be trusted. This is why we will be using the sound markers. Does that answer your question?"

The assistant nodded quickly with a slight smile, "Yes, sir. Thank you."

"Good…as I was saying, while we move forward be sure to keep track of your assigned partner's whereabouts at all times. Everyone has their partner, correct?"

A chorus of 'yeses' rang out, so he continued, "Everyone has been sprayed with insect and sunscreen, I trust?" Again a round of 'yeses' was heard and he went on, "As this is a highly unusual forest, there are sure to be any number of scientifically noteworthy sights along the way. I understand that the temptation may be great, but do not, under any circumstances, stop for anything without alerting me first. Any more questions?"

Everyone shook their heads 'no,' so he nodded brusquely and barked, "Then let's move out!"

Yogi and Gareki were on Nai monitoring duty so they stuck close to him (not that he felt like running or anything, Hirato said the whole 'monitoring' idea was more of a regulation thing than actual surveillance). After a few dead ends and encounters with various surprising illusions, the group came across a clearing that Nai said was where Karoku's house was located.

Unfortunately, and much to Nai's disappointment, the house had been reduced to char and ash just a few days before their arrival. As the research team was picking through the rubble in an attempt to locate any evidence of the perpetrators, Nai volunteered that his own house was just a little further away. Akari-sensei, Gareki, and Yogi followed him to a cave.

Just as they were about to enter, Yogi whipped around, tense and alert. He felt the presence of something ominous and was ready to beat whatever it was into the dust. As it turns out, his senses were right, because not two seconds later, about seven big, black, monstrous creatures flew out of the woods and attacked him.

Akari and Nai expected Yogi to either be terrified or to quickly dispatch the creatures and move on. Gareki on the other hand was used to this kind of thing so his expectations were spot on. He figured that Yogi was going to extend this fight as long as he could, simply out of sheer boredom. He had been complacent for way to long and really wanted to cut loose and have some fun.

Yogi giggled ecstatically and flung himself at the animals with a war cry. He leapt into the air and drop kicked the largest monster. He quickly summoned his epees, still yowling happily. He slashed one of the monsters in half and stabbed another one all the way through. He dodged right, then left, then he cartwheeled over one and used his vines to pierce through most of the ones not already destroyed. When he was done, only the biggest one remained.

At this point, Gareki began to worry. You see, Yogi is capable of fighting all out for a short period of time and totally come off his adrenaline high without any trouble. The only problem is that when he fights all out for longer than a few minutes (especially after being kept from any kind of physical stimulation for more than a day), his mind kind of goes blank and he can't differentiate between friend or foe. One time he almost attacked Gareki. The only thing that ended up stopping him was when Gareki started crying in fear (he was about eleven at the time).

Knowing all this, Gareki had every right to be worried sick. He took a step forward and shouted, "Nii-chan! That's enough! Finish them off already!" Yogi totally ignored him. He was too far gone to even hear his little brother's call.

The monster wasn't too happy about the terrifyingly strong creature that killed its friends. It roared and bolted towards the blonde/silver haired man. Yogi grinned and raced to meet it.

Gareki yelled, "NO!" He sprinted to get between the two and held out his arms to his brother, pleading with him to calm down. As soon as Yogi laid eyes on him, he instantly pulled back. Gareki sighed with relief and gave his big brother a smirk.

"Adrenaline junky," the teen quipped. This made Yogi smile, just as the monster behind the boy reared up and pounced on him.

* * *

 **Kudos to the reader who knows what the song is from (hint: I didn't make it up).**

 **Masked Guest: You're very welcome and I'm glad you enjoyed them! XD Thank you for reviewing! :)**

 **Kiscia: XD Hope you liked this one too!**

 **KingKagura: Thanks for reviewing, but I'm not going to be changing the 'no pairing' status for this fic. I suppose if you want to see their interactions as romantic, I have no right to stop you. However, that isn't how I want to portray them. I appreciate your thoughts though! :)**

 **Have a great day, guys! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey everyone...**

 **I'm so, so, so sorry I've neglected this for such a long time! x_x**

 **I've had half of this chapter done for about a month (maybe less) but I couldn't get past one part of it. Anyway, I finally figured something out and I'm afraid to say that I have come to a rather sad conclusion.**

 **This chapter is the beginning of the end of this story of mine.**

 ***ducks flying plates and knives***

 **YIPE! Wait! Before you curse my name for all of eternity, just know that there will still be a few more chapters coming up. Not too many, but hopefully enough for you guys not to hate me.**

 **I hope you have enjoyed the journey thus far and I hope you continue to enjoy this story for as long as it goes on! :)**

 **Chapter 10: Black Blood**

 **(Warning: Main character death involved. A greatly loved main character. Please don't kill me...)**

* * *

The black monster enveloped Gareki in darkness as Yogi looked on in frozen horror. The blonde vaguely heard Nai's screaming and Akari's shouting, but he could barely see the forest surrounding him. His focus was completely centered on the beast that was, at this point, feasting on its skinny, but meaty, meal.

Yogi didn't move a muscle for multiple seconds. Only once Gareki began screaming in pain, did he leap into action. He jumped in the air and somersaulted a few times before quickly slashing down on the monster. He split it in two and it disappeared into a black mist. The blonde landed heavily and stumbled a bit. He let his epees vanish before turning around and tripping over himself in an attempt to get to his injured little brother.

"Gareki-kun," the blonde fell to his knees at Gareki's side and spoke quietly, "Gareki, can you hear me?" He lifted a shaky hand and brushed at the boy's hair. Akari-sensei and Nai rushed over to see Gareki.

"Nai, support his head! Yogi, I need you to help me wrap up his wounds okay?" The doctor put a hand on Yogi's shoulder and shook him in order to make the blonde look at him, "You brother is going to be all right. Do you understand me? He is going to be all right, but only if you help me."

Yogi blinked, took a shuddering breath, and nodded haltingly, "Okay, Sensei. What should I do?"

Twenty minutes later Gareki was all bandaged up but, unfortunately, still unconscious. Yogi moved him from lying on the grass outside Nai's cave to a nice place in the shade. He couldn't help but berate himself for not acting faster as he kept Gareki's head off the ground, waiting for Akari-sensei and Nai to finish exploring the cave.

While Akari-sensei was walking along the edge of the cave, he happened across a rock jutting out of the wall at an odd angle. When he pulled it out, a small half-burned notebook was revealed. Akari-sensei picked it up and flipped through it. The pages were filled with strange formulas and characters that Akari-sensei wasn't able to read. The doctor grunted in frustration as he closed the book.

"Nai," he looked at the child and asked, "Do you know what this is?"

The niji-boy skipped over to him and looked at the notebook. "I'm sorry, Akari-sensei. I've never seen it before," he blinked up at the doctor, "Is it important?"

"I'm not sure. It probably is considering someone hid it, presumably to keep it safe," Akari-sensei turned on his heel and stalked out of the cave, gesturing at Yogi as he walked out, "Come on you two, let's get back to the ship." At his words, Yogi carefully lifted Gareki up and quickly followed the doctor back out into the sunlight. Nai, on the other hand, stayed behind for a bit.

He looked around the room he once called home. All the memories he had of this place. When he glanced at his bed he remembered the time he had gotten sick and was bedridden an entire week. Karoku had taken care of him the entire time. Nai giggled as he remembered the look of horror on Karoku's face when Nai puked on him instead of in the bucket in his hands. His blue-haired friend took it all in stride, though. Within minutes he had gotten the both of them cleaned up and changed into fresh clothes.

Another time Nai remembered was when he accidentally left a bottle of honey open and in the morning the table it was on was covered in ants. Karoku had yelped when he saw all the bugs. The older boy had never been too good with insects, but his reaction to the tiny invasion brought out an evil side in Nai. He had grinned mischievously and picked up a single piece of paper with an astounding amount of ants on it. He waited for Karoku to turn toward him and flicked it at him.

Karoku let out such a scream, Nai wouldn't have been surprised if it had been heard across the island. He had flailed about shouting and cursing while Nai laughed his head off, before being scolded for his actions. Karoku hadn't been too mad at him, though, seeing as how he ended up laughing with him eventually.

"Nai! Are you coming?" Akari ducked back into the cave, shouting for the younger boy.

The child started and called back, "Yes, Akari-sensei," He took one more long look at his primitive home, "I'm leaving, Karoku…" he closed his eyes, listening for the reply he knew would never come. As expected, all he heard was silence. Nai sighed quietly and walked out into the warm sunlight.

Ӂ-Ӂ-Ӂ

Everyone was silent when they returned to the ship. Nothing had really been accomplished by the expedition and Gareki's injuries put a damper on everyone's spirits. Nai, in particular, was doubly upset over the fact that he had re-experienced the pain of losing Karoku again and having to see his new friend get hurt.

After quietly telling Akari-sensei and Yogi good-bye, Nai walked back to the room he shared with the brothers and lay down on his bed. He tried to hold back his tears at first, but, eventually, he gave in to his emotions and wept softly until exhaustion drove him into a fitful state of sleep.

Yogi on the other hand, didn't have time to allow himself the luxury of tears or sleep. Akari-sensei wanted him to help give Gareki a proper examination in the infirmary. The blonde, carrying his brother bridal-style, followed Akari-sensei down a few halls and through the open infirmary doors. He gently laid the boy on one of the beds and stepped back, allowing the doctor room to work.

For a while, Akari-sensei simply gave Yogi straightforward directions which the blonde man was able to complete with little trouble. At one point, Akari-sensei gave a startled jolt and rushed to one of the many computer monitors in the room. He stabbed the keyboard rapidly and waited for a response. What he got in return was not what he wanted to see.

The pink-haired man swore loudly and snarled at Yogi, "Restrain your brother! Immediately!"

Yogi jumped at his words, but didn't move because he wasn't clear on what the doctor meant. Akari-sensei growled and pushed him to the side, grabbing a coil of rope to do the job himself. Yogi's eyes narrowed to slits and he leapt in front of the doctor, his vines wrapping around Akari-sensei's legs and halting him in his tracks.

Akari-sensei struggled against the tightening plants, saying, "You don't understand, Yogi! He needs to be tied down before he wakes up!"

"Why?!"

The doctor groaned in exasperation, "Just do as I say!"

Yogi stomped his foot angrily, "No! Not until you tell me, wh-"

 _AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! GYAAAAAAAAAA! KAAAAAAAAAA!_

He was interrupted by Gareki's pained screaming. The boy was thrashing about on his bed, eyes wide open but rolled back in his head. Akari cursed again and muttered, "It's too late now…"

Yogi stared at the creature that used to be his brother. Gareki didn't even look human anymore. His veins, full of a pitch black liquid instead of the usual bright red blood, pulsed underneath his pale skin and his body had twisted itself over backward in an attempt to get away from the pain wracking its way through him.

Gareki screamed for a few seconds longer before kicking off the bed and slamming into his brother. The impact jarred Yogi from his stupor and he jolted into action. The blonde wrestled with the raven, trying to get on top of him in order to pin him to the floor. Gareki refused to give up the high ground, however, so while Yogi tried his best, the younger boy was simply too strong for him to overcome.

Just as Yogi's arms were about to give out, Akari-sensei jumped into the fray, wrapping his rope around Gareki's shoulders and upper body. Gareki howled in fury and threw the doctor off. Akari hit the wall with a loud _THUD_ and slid down it, landing in an unconscious heap on the ground.

The boy panted as he staggered to his feet. He was standing above Yogi, with a foot on either side of him. A bead of sweat dripped down off his chin and onto Yogi's face. It slid down the blonde's face as well, forming a shiny streak that almost looked like a tear.

"Gareki…please, calm down. It's me, remember? Your brother," this time a real tear rolled down from Yogi's eye as he went on, "It's me, Yogi. Your nii-chan, remember? Gareki…" His tears were flowing freely now, but the dark-haired boy paid them no heed. He wasn't the boy Yogi had raised anymore. He was just a wild animal, trapped in a large cage and in need of a quick escape.

Gareki let out one more gasping breath before he punched Yogi right in the face, knocking him out cold. With that problem out of the way, the creature in Gareki's body spat on the floor and turned to leave.

Out in the hallway, the creature closed his eyes and listened. At first he was trying to discern if there was actually a way out or not, but a quiet noise caught his attention instead. He tilted his head in its direction. It sounded like the whimpering of a small animal in pain. That brought out the creature's deep set hunger for blood.

He ground his teeth in expectation of his first meal and began flying through the halls, waiting voraciously for the whimpering to come into clarity. When it finally did, he slowed to a stop and kicked open the door the little animal was hiding behind. The animal squeaked in a panic, but (for a reason he couldn't comprehend) calmed down when it saw him.

Nai was actually very glad to see Gareki. He had woken up a while ago and was thinking about going to see him in the infirmary but couldn't summon up enough will power to crawl out of bed. He grinned brightly at his friend and rolled off his mattress, awaiting a hug or a pat on the head, "Hey, Gareki! I'm glad you're feeling bet-"

 _SHLUCK_

Nai stumbled to a stop, coughing as he found it getting harder to breathe. His eyes defocused and refocused as he looked down at his chest. One of Gareki's hands and its corresponding wrist were completely embedded in Nai's small ribcage.

The creature standing in front of the bleeding child grinned happily as he ripped his hand back into the open air. He licked the blood on his hand and shivered with delight. The tiny animal's blood was better than he had anticipated. It was sweet with just a hint of a flavor that reminded him of cinnamon. The creature lapped up what was left on his arm before looking down at the animal. It had dropped to the floor when he had removed his hand.

He knelt slowly and stared at his prey. If he weren't so hungry he might have spared it. He actually thought it looked kind of adorable like this. Although, he was pretty sure he would think anything would look better with lots of blood on it.

Nai took a pained gasp, tears in his eyes as he silently begged to wake up from this terrible nightmare. The last thing he saw before everything went completely dark was Gareki smiling at him with a horrifying kind of cruelty Nai had never seen in his friend. He closed his eyes and whispered his last words, "Good-bye, Gareki…"

After the creature heard the little animal speak, he watched as the life seeped out of its body. It was a pity he hadn't been able to play with the little animal more. He had hoped to hear it talk some more. He liked the way its voice played on his ears. Oh well, he wasn't going to worry too much about it. He had a feast to finish!

Ӂ-Ӂ-Ӂ

Back in the infirmary, Hirato was just about to wake Yogi and Akari-sensei from their respective stupors. He had heard Gareki's screams and the _thud_ of Akari hitting the wall but had come up a hallway different from the one the boy had gone down so they never happened upon each other. Hirato shook the doctor awake first before doing the same to Yogi.

"What happened, you two? Where's Gareki-kun?" Hirato knelt on the floor in between the two of them, "I thought he had been hurt…"

Akari climbed to his feet and stumbled over to the computer bank. He coughed roughly and said, "He got attacked by a varuga when we were at the Rainbow Forest. It must have gotten some of its blood in him, because he became a post-human and attacked us," Akari coughed again, "I'm guessing he's trying to escape now."

Hirato blinked with astonishment, "Wait, what? Gareki-kun turned into a post-human?"

"Yes…" Akari-sensei glanced over at Yogi, "I'm sorry, Yogi. But your brother is gone now. I don't know if you understand what a post-human is, but I'm sure you could tell that the thing in your brother's body is not him."

Yogi stayed silent in his position on the floor. His hair had fallen in front of his face so the Circus members couldn't discern his expression. After a few seconds he pushed himself to his feet, wobbling a little as he straightened. His locks of silver and gold fell away from his face as he glanced over at the captain and doctor. They both took a step back when they saw his expression. His eyes were flashing bright red and he was frowning slightly.

"What happened to him?" Yogi turned to fully face Akari-sensei and began taking slow, but steady, steps toward him, "And how are you going to fix him?" He continued to walk toward Akari until the doctor had been backed up against the wall. Yogi slammed his palm against the wall behind Akari and shouted, "HOW THE %$&*# ARE YOU GONNA FIX HIM?!" The pink-haired doctor flinched at the sudden impact, curling away from the blonde on instinct.

In the next instant Yogi was pinned to the floor by both Hirato and Tsukitachi (who Hirato had called for backup after the blonde started getting riled up). Tsukitachi pushed down on Yogi's head, "You reeeeally need to calm down now, buddy. I know yer all bent outta shape, but, if you wanna be able to be of any help at all, take a chill pill."

Yogi squirmed angrily under the red head, "Shut up! I don't need to calm down! I need someone to tell me how to fix my baby brother!"

"He can't be fixed, Yogi," Akari-sensei closed his eyes and turned his face away from the blonde, "I'm sorry, but your brother is truly gone."

* * *

 **Yeah...so, um...**

 **Sorry?**

 **But seriously, I hope you liked this chapter and if you want to yell and scream at me in a review, I will accept it with a stiff upper lip *le sob*!**

 **Have a nice rest of your day everyone! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey! It's been a long time since I've updated any of my stories but today is kind of special so I'll be updating all of them (well** _ **most**_ **is a more accurate word to use) at once! XD**

 **Here's chapter 11: Learning to Accept the Truth**

* * *

 _Yogi squirmed angrily under the red head, "Shut up! I don't need to calm down! I need someone to tell me how to fix my baby brother!"_

 _"_ _He can't be fixed, Yogi," Akari-sensei closed his eyes and turned his face away from the blonde, "I'm sorry, but your brother is truly gone."_

Ӂ-Ӂ-Ӂ

The blonde immediately stilled. When he did, Hirato and Tsukitachi cautiously pulled back. They tensed as Yogi pushed himself to his knees. Akari looked down at him and saw that he had tears running down his cheeks.

"That can't be," he cried softly, "He can't be gone…Gareki…no…" Yogi buried his face in his hands and sobbed.

His crying was the only thing that cut through the thick silence hanging around the three circus members. Tsukitachi glanced over at Hirato, wondering what he should do now. The captain shook his head imperceptibly as he met his friend's gaze. They would wait for Yogi to calm down before doing anything. Neither of them wanted to set him off again.

After a few minutes, Yogi's flow of tears dried up. He took one last shuddering breath before he swore loudly and punched the ground once. With a bloody fist and legs shaking just barely, Yogi climbed to his feet and turned to face Hirato, "What do we do now, Hirato?"

"…Are you okay now, Yogi?"

"No. Not at all. But," he looked down at his fist, it was already scabbing over, and went on, "If it's true that there isn't any way for Gareki, my Gareki, the one I raised, to come back…then I am responsible for stopping whatever it was that took his place. I should have listened to Akari-sensei. But I didn't, so now I have to fix the mistake I made. So," he looked back at the three men, "Tell me what to do to take care of this mess I'm responsible for."

Yogi saw Hirato's face briefly flicker with regret and pity before his mask went back up and he said, "All right, Yogi. Um…why don't you, and Tsukitachi, Akari, and myself of course, look for Gareki-kun," he glanced at the red-head and doctor, "When you find him make sure to call for backup just in case he's too much for one of us on our own, okay?" He was met with a chorus of nods and 'yeses,' so he went on, "Good, now then…Yogi, why don't you search all the hall ways. Tsukitachi, you search through the guest rooms on the west side, I'll go through the ones on the east, and Akari-san you go through the library, my office, and the dining room."

All three men nodded quickly and went to search their assigned sections. Hirato had purposely given himself and Tsukitachi the two more likely places Gareki might have hidden. He knew that both he and Tsukitachi wouldn't hesitate to kill the boy if it came down to that. Hirato was positive that Yogi would never be able to kill his own brother and Akari wasn't strong enough to beat any kind of varuga, let alone a post-human.

Anyway, out in the hall Tsukitachi walked the same way Gareki had gone not twenty minutes ago. He checked in a few rooms before stopping in front of the brothers' room. He immediately got a strong whiff of something keenly similar to iron. He recognized it as blood. Tsukitachi frowned and kicked open the door.

What he saw inside stopped him in his tracks.

Bright red blood covered almost every visible surface and lying in the middle of the floor was a broken and mutilated body. Tsukitachi rushed over to it and tried to determine who the corpse was. The face looked half-eaten, as did the rest of the body, but the red-head could see a few locks of white hair, some of it dyed red from the blood on it.

As soon as Tsukitachi saw the hair color he understood. Nai had been Gareki's first victim and if Circus wasn't able to stop him, many, many more innocent people would also fall prey to the boy's new found, and utterly bottomless, lust for blood.

Above the red-head, still lying in bed from when he took a nap after his first meal, Gareki was watching him warily. He could tell there was something different about the man compared to the tiny animal. The creature silently rolled onto his stomach and got ready to pounce.

Tsukitachi grit his teeth, tears of pity pricking the corners of his eyes. It must have hurt a great deal to have been torn apart like this. He just hoped that Gareki had the decency to kill his prey before consuming it. He had come across a few that enjoyed killing solely for the fact that their victim's screams were addictive. The red-head sighed quietly and ran a gentle hand over what he thought might have been Nai's head (Gareki had even crushed the small child's fragile bones to dust), muttering, "Rest in peace, little one. I'm sorry you had to die like this…" With that he got to his feet and was about to go find Hirato when he felt a heavy weight land on his back and sharp teeth pierce his skin, drawing blood on contact.

The creature's eyes widened as he bit down on the red-headed man's neck. He had jumped down from the upper bunk when his new prey stood to leave. He figured even though the man was different from the animal, killing him would still be just as easy as stealing candy from a baby. Unfortunately for him (but very fortunately for Tsukitachi), the man's blood tasted positively vile in his mouth. It almost made him want to puke, but he didn't want to waste his previous meal so he held it in.

Tsukitachi snarled in pain and tried to throw the boy off his back. Gareki was relentless however and all he did was bite down harder, regardless of the bad tasting blood. Eventually, the Circus member dropped to one knee as the blood loss became too much for him. When he did, Gareki leapt off his back and broke through the large glass window covering one wall.

Out in the open, the creature realized that he had freedom. And lots of it. He could go anywhere and eat whatever (or whoever) he wanted. No one could hold him back and he wasn't about to restrain himself. It was time to go all out. As he fell to the ground he opened his mouth and howled joyously.

 _KYAAAAAAAAAAAA!_

Ӂ-Ӂ-Ӂ

Hirato, Yogi, and Akari all heard the long loud howl and rushed to its point of origin. Upon entering the brother's former room Yogi gagged and retched at the overpowering smell. Hirato yelped when he saw Tsukitachi's unconscious body and rushed over to him, "Tsuki! Tsuki, are you okay? Akari! Help him!"

Akari-sensei slipped and slid across the bloody floor, falling clumsily to his knees next to the captain as he began giving the lieutenant some emergency first aid, "Hirato, Yogi, go after Gareki. If he gets to the town below us, he'll kill everyone in it," Hirato hesitated a little, making Akari slap him in the arm and growl, "Don't worry! I'll take care of him. Go do your job." The captain nodded slowly and made his way to the broken window.

Yogi coughed a few more times before stumbling past the two Circus members and the body of his young friend. He leapt out the window, following closely behind Hirato.

Out in the open air, Hirato waved Yogi over to him and yelled above the roar of the wind, "We'll go straight down into town and see if we can find him. If he's down there I'm sure it will be very easy to find him. I just hope he hasn't hurt too many yet…"

Yogi closed his eyes and tried to repress a shudder of pain and sadness at the thought of his precious baby brother running amok and hurting someone. He nodded silently before floating a little closer to Hirato and saying in voice so soft the captain could barely hear it, "I'm so sorry about this, Hirato-san…I should have stopped him when I had the chance and now people, innocent people, are paying for it."

Hirato put a gentle hand on Yogi's trembling shoulder, "It's not your fault, Yogi-"

"Yes, it is," the blonde pulled away from the captain, "If I had just listened to Akari-sensei none of this would have happened. Everything is my fault…everything…" He choked back a sob, clapping a hand to his mouth in an attempt to keep his emotions to himself. His whole frame shook with unwept tears and he desperately clutched at his heart, feeling it shatter into tinier pieces with every passing moment.

The dark-haired captain frowned in worry at the younger man's agony. He didn't know the blonde very well, but even so, no one deserved to suffer that much without having some kind of release. Hirato sighed quietly, "Yogi, will you look at me please?" It took a few moments for Yogi to calm down enough and glance up at Hirato hesitantly. When he did, the captain gave him a small, sad smile, "You made a choice Yogi. Just because you made one that resulted in a less than optimal series of events, it doesn't mean you are to blame. You simply made a choice. That's all there is to it. You can't beat yourself up over something you had no control over."

Yogi's eyebrows came together quickly in confusion and he tilted his head to the side, eyes questioning the captain's meaning behind his words. Hirato quickly caught on and tried to explain, "I mean, well…everyone makes choices in their life. Ones with good outcomes, ones with bad outcomes…they are all just choices though. The consequences of your choices are beyond your control. Granted you can't change the consequences once you've made the choice, but that doesn't mean you have to blame yourself," his smile curved into a slight smirk, "Do you understand, now?"

The blonde looked down at his feet as he nodded slowly, "Yes, I understand," he flicked his gaze upward to meet the captain's eyes, "Thank you, Hirato-san." He gave the man a glimmer of a smile before once again turning his sights to the ground below them. He took a deep breath and said, "Well, shall we get going then, Hirato-san?"

Hirato chuckled quietly before slightly inclining his head and saying, "Certainly, Yogi."

* * *

 **Please leave a review! :)**


	12. Final Chapter

**Hey everyone!**

 **So after a year and a few months of having this story ongoing,** ** _Silver and Gold_** **is finally coming to a close. This is the final chapter.**

 **I don't mind taking requests for oneshots using these characters (whether it be about Yogi and Gareki bonding, a bit about someone's life, or anything else) but I will post them as separate stories just so you know where to look.**

 **All righty then, please enjoy the final chapter of** ** _Silver and Gold_** **: Welcome to Circus**

* * *

 _The blonde looked down at his feet as he nodded slowly, "Yes, I understand," he flicked his gaze upward to meet the captain's eyes, "Thank you, Hirato-san." He gave the man a glimmer of a smile before once again turning his sights to the ground below them. He took a deep breath and said, "Well, shall we get going then, Hirato-san?"_

 _Hirato chuckled quietly before slightly inclining his head and saying, "Certainly, Yogi."_

Ӂ-Ӂ-Ӂ

While the two men were on their way to stop Gareki, their intended target was having a grand time wreaking havoc in the town below. He cackled madly as he thrust his arm through a young man trying to protect his girlfriend. Gareki screamed happily when the girlfriend gasped and passed out. He tore through both of them quickly before moving on to his next victim.

He ended up plowing through more than three dozen people on his way through the small town. After a bit, he reached the town square. Here there were people all over the place! Gareki ran around gleefully, biting and snapping and clawing at everyone he came across.

By the time Yogi and Hirato landed in the chaos-stricken town, Gareki had killed over fifty people and injured more than double that amount. The blonde man gasped in shock as he surveyed the damage his brother had done.

In the midst of all the gore, Gareki stood laughing happily. He splashed around in the blood like he used to play in water when he was little. The dark-haired teen glanced up at the floating men and smiled, saying, "Hi there~! Are you gonna try to stop me? It'll be looooots of fun if ya do!"

Hirato frowned as he landed a few feet from the boy. He motioned for Yogi to join him on the ground. The blonde closed his eyes to calm his frayed nerves before obeying the captain and landing next to him. Yogi took a step toward his brother and said, "Gareki, please don't do this. Just come back to the ship so Akari-sensei can fix yo-"

" _WHAT IF I DON'T WANNA BE FIXED?!_ " Gareki screamed angrily at the blonde man, " _WHAT IF I WANNA STAY LIKE THIS?! I LIKE WHAT I AM AND I DON'T NEED YOUR MEDDLING! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!_ " The boy shouted some other incomprehensible words and leapt at the two men, against his better judgement (he knew they were stronger than him, but he was too insane to care at this point).

Hirato jumped forward to meet him while Yogi screamed at them both to stop. Neither did, so he summoned his epees and rammed them into the ground, yelling, "DORNEN KISTE!" The blonde's thick strong vines shot up from the ground and wrapped themselves around the two hot-heads. He forced the two of them apart and jumped to get in between them.

"Gareki, you just calm down. Please," he sent a pleading look at the thrashing young man before turning to glance back at Hirato, "Hirato, I understand that you are upset, but you need to calm down too." Yogi dropped his gaze to the ground, "I'm sorry that my brother has caused you so much trouble. I'd fix it all in a heartbeat if I could. Even so, I need you to just wait for a bit all right? I want to talk to my brother, alone if possible…"

The captain scoffed, but when Yogi silently begged him to concede he sighed audibly and nodded his acquiescence.

At his nod, Yogi carefully undid his vines from the captain and floated over to Gareki. He never slackened his grip on the younger boy, but he did get close enough to hold a decent conversation.

"Gareki-kun…do you…remember me at all?" Yogi brushed a gentle finger over his baby brother's forehead.

The dark-haired boy huffed and pulled his head away from the touch, "Why should I? You're a human. Humans are nothing but meat to me. Why on earth should I care to remember you?"

Yogi clenched his jaw, trying to keep from screaming, before replying (in a voice he hoped was even), "I'm Yogi. I raised you. You're my little brother, Gare-"

"I DON'T CARE! I DON'T CARE! I DON'T CARE! I DON'T CAAAAAAAAAARE!" Gareki howled and struggled violently against Yogi's vines, breaking free after one last desperate screech.

Yogi yelped as Gareki swung at his torso and countered with one of his epees. Gareki dodged the sharp blade easily before sprinting over to Hirato.

The dark-haired man growled angrily and whipped out his staff, ready to fight Gareki to the death if necessary. Gareki snarled in reply, "Get outta my way, %&*$#!" The two flew directly at each other (just like they had before) and got ready to pound each other into the dirt.

Once again, Yogi jumped between them…but this time, he didn't do it to stop them from hurting each other. He did it to save Gareki. His Gareki, not the mindless, bloodthirsty creature he had become. With tears streaming down his face, he faced the younger boy and stabbed him straight through the chest.

Gareki stopped instantly, but the momentum he had built up carried his body a few inches further, making Yogi's sharp blade pierce further into his skin. He coughed as he brought his hands to the wound, staining them an inky black with his defiled blood.

"Gareki…" Yogi fell to his knees, clutching his precious brother and whispering his name, "I'm so sorry." The blonde shuddered with grief as sobs wracked his form. Only when he heard a wheezing gasp come from the boy in his arms did he look up to see what he had done.

The dark-haired teen took in another short, painful breath before lifting a hand and placing it on Yogi's tear stained cheek. "Don't cry, Nii-chan. It's all right now. You saved me…thank you…"

"Don't try to talk, Gareki!" Yogi cradled the boy's bleeding form to his chest and wept, "Please, Gareki…please…don't leave me…I need you, Gareki…I need you…" He knew begging was hopeless, but he didn't want to think about life without his precious baby brother.

Gareki gave a small laugh, "You've never needed me, Nii-chan. I was always the one who needed you," his voice began to sound strained and weak as he went on, "I want you to know, that I love you, Nii-chan. You have always…been my everything….and I want you to…li-….live happily….if only….for…me….."

With those words, Gareki took one last breath and died peacefully in his brother's arms.

Yogi let out a long loud wail as he held Gareki's lifeless body close and rocked it back and forth, like he used to when Gareki had a nightmare. As he did, Yogi began to realize that he would never get to comfort the boy again. He would never hear Gareki laugh at his lame jokes or be teased by him when the blonde did something stupid. He would never close his eyes and hear Gareki hum to himself while he was thinking or be able to answer one of Gareki's many befuddling questions. He would never get to squeeze the boy in a huge hug and squeal over how cute he was. The two of them would never get to go on raids anymore. Gareki was gone….and that scared Yogi. It scared him more than seeing his sister die, it scared him more than fighting, it scared him more than death itself. Never in all his life had Yogi felt so helpless, alone, and terrified. Clinging to his brother's form was all he could do. It was his lifeline, keeping him from drowning in his own fear and anguish.

Then, he felt a hand be placed on his back. Yogi glanced over his shoulder to see who it was and saw Hirato kneeling beside him, his eyes mirroring Yogi's own grief. Yogi managed to choke out a gruff, "Hirato?" before his voice failed him.

Hirato shook his head slightly, as if to clear his mind, before speaking, "I'm so sorry, Yogi," his own voice cracked a little but he quickly tried to cover it up by clearing his throat and continuing, "What are you going to do now?"

Yogi laughed weakly and without a shred of humor, "What _can_ I do, Hirato? Gareki was my whole world. How can I possibly manage without him?"

The man was silent for a while out of respect for his companion's overwhelming emotions. When about five minutes had passed, he took a deep breath and said, "Why don't you join Circus? You obviously have the ability to become a great fighter and…" he trailed off for a moment before going on, "And our goal and purpose is to ensure the protection of innocent people like Gareki from being killed, or worse, by the _varuga_. We don't always succeed, but we do always try our best. I know it isn't the most comforting thing for you to hear right now, but many people have fallen victim to the _varuga_ and many more will continue to fall unless we do something about it. Your cooperation and assistance would be a great a-"

"Will I be able to prevent something like this," Yogi gestured calmly at the gory scene around them, "From happening again?"

"…Not always, but most of the time, yes." Hirato stole a glance at Yogi's face, but his expression was hidden behind his gold and silver locks of hair.

Almost seeming to feel the other's gaze on him, Yogi looked up to the sky and closed his eyes. Hirato could see his mouth moving, but never heard a sound. When Yogi was finished, he sighed quietly before reverting his gaze back to the dead teen in his arms. He slowly, gently, carefully, lay Gareki's body on the cold stone pavement.

After laying the boy down, he stood to his feet (catching Hirato slightly off guard) and held his hands over Gareki. Hirato watched in awe as Yogi's thorny vines began working their way through the pavement and up around Gareki's body. They lovingly encircled the teen, until all that was left showing was his face.

One last time Yogi knelt down next to his brother and kissed him on the forehead, saying, "I love you, Gareki-kun. Good-bye." Immediately after, the vines closed up Gareki's cocoon-like coffin and pulled him down into the depths of the earth. The only trace that showed he had ever been there were the two men standing side by side staring at the ground where he lay buried and the tiny seedlings that came up from beneath the soil.

Yogi knew instinctively that those flowers were meant for Gareki and that they would always protect him as he slept until Yogi joined him.

When all this was done, the blonde turned to face Hirato, bowed, and said with utter conviction, "Please let me join Circus. I want to be able to protect people from the _varuga_ because I would never wish the pain of losing a loved one on anyone. Please allow me to fight."

He stayed in a bowed position until Hirato sighed and placed a gentle hand on his head, saying, "All right then, Yogi. Welcome to Circus."

Ӂ-Ӂ-Ӂ

Yogi never forgot.

Not while he was on stage, acting as Nyanperona for thousands of kids. Not while he sang and danced in the parades dressed in that same silly cat outfit. Not even while he fought and killed thousands upon thousands of _varuga_ , Yogi never ever forgot about Gareki.

Many times he found himself brandishing a razor blade against his arm or leg or neck, desperately wishing to end his hated existence so he could finally be reunited with his brother. Each time, he came within millimeters of death, but each time something kept him from dying.

A sheep finding him just in time. Hirato screaming at him to live the life Gareki wanted for him. Tsukumo pleading with him through fearful tears to stop. Akari discovering his wounds and going on an angry rampage about the importance of life and self-worth.

Eventually, he stopped hurting himself. Stopped pulling the silver blade against his tender skin. Stopped feeling altogether. He acted as if he felt. Acted cheerful. Acted scared. Acted angry. Acted. Acted. Acted.

His whole life felt like one big act, and he wanted nothing more than for the curtain to go down.

When he finally his rock-bottom, he met someone. Her name was Isosa. She fell in love with him rather quickly and her constant cheerfulness and liveliness brought Yogi back. He began to feel again. He learned how to love again.

He began to live again.

After he met her, he never looked back. He would always remember Gareki, but he didn't mourn him anymore. He lived in the moment and for the present.

Decades after Gareki died and dozens of years after Yogi retired from Circus, he died, surrounded by his children and grand-children. He had lived a full and happy life. And when he finally was reunited with Gareki in the afterlife, he had such wonderful stories to tell. A life that Gareki had never been able to truly live, but a life that Gareki was able to live through Yogi.

They wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

The End

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 **Well, that's it then. Please leave a review telling me what you thought of this story in general or what you thought about this chapter specifically.**

 **Many thanks to all the reviewers who stuck with me throughout all my lazy bouts and silly filler chapters! I love you guys soooo much and your words always made my day.**

 **Thanks to all who read this and I hope you enjoyed the ride!**

 **Love,**

 **VGirl :)**


	13. Silver, Gold, and Onyx

**Okay, so I couldn't help but write one more 'chapter' for** ** _Silver and Gold_** **. I loved this story so much and I'm really sad to let it go, but I think this will help both you readers and myself set it free.**

 **Thanks for all the support you've given me so far and I hope you enjoy this side story! :)**

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₰- Alternate universe closely tied to the Karneval universe -₰

 _STOMP STOMP STOMP STOMP STOMP_

 _..._

 _WHAM_

"NII-CHAN! ANIKI! TIME TO GET UP!" A short, dark-haired, seven-year-old boy shouted at the top of his tiny lungs after slamming open the door to his two elder brothers' room.

When all he got in response was a pair of non-committal grumblings, the little boy huffed in mock irritation and stomped over to one of his brothers' beds. After reaching the bed side, he climbed up onto the bed and began jumping up and down on his brother, trying one more time to wake him up.

The poor assaulted young man he was leaping on screeched at the sudden weight and shouted, "ALL RIGHT! ALL RIGHT, I'M UP!"

The little boy landed on his brother's torso and gave him an almighty hug, "Good morning, Nii-chan!" His brother sighed as he ran a hand through his blonde hair. He looked down at the little boy in his lap before chuckling happily and squeezing him tightly back.

"Good morning, kiddo," he pressed a kiss to the child's dark hair and went on, "I'll go make breakfast, so you wake up your Aniki, okay?"

"Okay!" The boy gave his brother a loud kiss on the cheek before he hopped off the bed and went to give his other brother the same treatment.

He laughed as the little boy leapt on top of the blonde's silver-haired twin, eliciting a pained yelp similar to the one he gave earlier. After throwing off his covers and getting out of bed, the blonde went into the bathroom, brushed his teeth, took a quick shower, and got ready for the day. A few minutes later, he was walking into the kitchen, intent on making a wonderful breakfast for his two precious siblings.

Back in the bedroom, the little boy was being tossed up in the air by his growling silver-haired brother. As his brother caught him carefully, he laughed joyfully and said, "Aniki! We've got school today, remember? You gotta get ready!"

His brother grumbled as he rolled out of bed, still holding the little boy in his arms, "Yeah, yeah, I know. I still can't figure out how such a sweet little kid can be so bossy, you little minx!" He snarled playfully and rubbed his face into the boy's torso, making him shriek happily and attempt to wriggle out of the strong hold.

After a bit more wrestling, the silver-haired brother flipped the boy upside-down and slowly lowered him to the floor, saying, "All right, kid, go help yer Nii-chan with breakfast and I'll be there in a minute, 'kay?"

The boy, used to flipping himself upright, got to his feet and saluted with a chipper, "M'kay!" Before zooming out of the room, into the hall, and to the kitchen.

His blonde brother chuckled as he ran in and said, "Gareki-kun, why don't you set the table? I'll be done with the pancakes in just a minute."

The little boy, Gareki, yipped, "All right!" And went to do as he was told. He got out three plates, one small and two large, and grabbed a few forks as well. After setting the table, he skipped back over to the dishes cupboard and took out three cups. He set these on the table next to the plates and went over to the fridge to get the milk and orange juice.

Just as he was carefully pouring the drinks into the cups, his silver-haired brother walked into the kitchen, finally dressed and ready for the day. The silver-haired young man sniffed the air and said excitedly, "Pancakes! You don't usually make those, Yogi. What's with this fine luxury?" He walked behind his twin and settled his chin on the other's shoulder, staring hungrily at the fluffy circles of food. He was just slightly taller than Yogi so he had to bend down just a little to be comfortable.

Yogi laughed at his brother's playfulness before replying, "No particular reason," he turned his head so he was looking at his twin, "I just thought it would be nice to start this school day with a nice treat."

"Ugh…" the silver-haired teen groaned and dropped his forehead onto Yogi's shoulder, "You just had to remind me, didn't you?"

"Oh, come on, Silver. School's not that bad," Yogi pushed his twin off him as he scolded him gently, "And besides, you're doing really well so far. Now go sit down if you want to eat."

At that, Silver quickly hurried to his place and sat down, jostling the table just a bit as he did. Gareki laughed at his antics and took a sip of his milk. He had been siting politely at the table since he put away the cartons. Silver leaned over and ruffled his hair affectionately, making him giggle happily and nuzzle closer. After tiring of being petted, Gareki pulled the hand off his head and began playing with it. Silver smiled and allowed the little boy to amuse himself while Yogi finished flipping the pancakes.

When Yogi was done, he carried over the tall stack of golden deliciousness and lay two circles a-piece on each of the plates. He then walked over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of maple syrup. Setting it on the table, he sat down and said, "Enjoy!"

Silver and Gareki clapped their hands together and chanted, "Itadakimasu," before digging into the yummy food.

The whole meal lasted about thirty minutes, in which the small family talked and joked with each other like they always did. After breakfast, they gathered up their dishes, rinsed them off, and set them in the dishwasher.

While they were cleaning up, Yogi glanced at the clock on the stove and yelped, "We're gonna be late! Silver, help Gareki get his shoes on. Gareki, grab our bags from the living room. I'll get our lunches."

The three flew into a flurry of motion as they carried out their orders. At the front door, Yogi gave each of his brothers their lunches as they walked by him and out onto the hallway of their apartment complex. The trio ran down the stairs to the ground floor and dashed to the bus stop, where the bus all three always took to get to their respective schools was just about to leave. They leapt through the closing doors and shouted with victory when they made it in safely.

On the bus, Gareki skipped over to a classmate friend of his who took the same route to school with his elder brother (who also, _coincidentally_ , went to the same school as Yogi and Silver). Gareki sat down next to his friend and said, "Morning, Nai!"

His friend, Nai, hugged him sideways and chided him lightly, "Good morning, Gareki! I didn't think you would make it! You were a little late today, did something happen?" He blinked his bright ruby red eyes at the other boy, concern lining his face.

Gareki laughed, saying, "Nothing happened. Yogi just made pancakes and we lost track of time!" The little boy looked over at his brothers, who were sitting next to Nai's elder brother probably talking over homework or something boring like that.

In reality, however, they were actually discussing their 'perfect' younger siblings.

Silver bumped his friend's shoulder and asked, "How've you been, Karoku? Nai been a good kid?"

Yogi smacked him on the arm, "Nai-chan's always a good kid, Silver, mind your manners!" He leaned over to look at Nai's brother, Karoku, and said, "Sorry about that, Karoku-kun!"

Karoku smiled softly and said to Yogi, "It's all right," looking back to Silver he smirked deviously and said in a voice dripping with sickly sweetness, "I've been great, Silver-kun. And Nai has been a perfect angel. Just like I'm sure your Gareki has been, hm?"

"Darn straight," Silver huffed and leaned back in his seat, pride in his younger brother making him puff out his chest, "Gareki's always great, never been anything less!"

"Nai has always been a perfect child, he has never had any trouble learning or anything of the like," Karoku grinned snarkily.

"Gareki always wants to learn and he is an absolute genius in everything he does," Silver shot back.

Karoku leaned toward his friend, challenging him, "Nai does his homework as soon as he gets home and doesn't indulge in extracurricular activities until he has finished it."

Silver jutted his chin out and glared down at the other teen, challenge fully accepted, "Gareki finishes his work before he even gets home and his hobbies are always productive."

"Nai is perfect."

"Gareki is more perfect."

"Nai is far better."

"No, Gareki is."

"No, Na-"

"All right, all right you two!" Yogi yanked on a strand of hair from each of their moronic heads, stopping their childish quarrel, "Enough bragging, all you're doing is setting a bad example for the kids. Both Gareki and Nai are wonderful kids and they both deserve plenty of attention, okay?" He got out of his seat, pushed Silver into his spot and plopped himself between the two teens with a huff of annoyance.

Across from the three teens, Nai and Gareki giggled with each other at their brother's silly conversation. Gareki nudged Nai with his shoulder and whispered in his ear, "Do you really do your homework as soon as you get home without playing a little first?"

Nai snickered and shook his head, saying, "No. I only go straight to work when Karoku-nii insists that I get it done before playing. What about you? Are your hobbies always productive?" He put air quotes around the 'always productive' part and nudged his friend back.

"Nope," Gareki knitted his fingers behind his head as he replied, "Granted I like to fiddle with mecha sometimes, but I like playing video games and playing with Nii-chan and Aniki more." They laughed at their brother's pride in them before going back to chatting happily with each other about different topics.

When the bus reached their destination, all five of the friends got off the bus and said their good-byes.

Yogi and Silver each gave Gareki a hug and a kiss (both of which he returned with glee) and told him to meet them back at the stop. Karoku's interaction with Nai went similarly. After they were all done, the two elementary schoolers went one way, while the high-schoolers went in the opposite direction.

Gareki and Nai always got out of school before their brothers so they would wait at the bus stop until they got out. They usually amused themselves by chatting about random stuff or playing silly word games with each other.

The three brothers came walking toward the bus stop (Silver and Karoku ended up speed walking most of the way) about a half-hour after the younger boys got out. The two quicker brothers scooped up their respective younger siblings and squeezed them tightly.

Yogi joined them shortly and they all got on the bus. While waiting for their stop, Yogi asked Karoku and Nai to eat dinner and spend the night, since the next day was the beginning of a holiday and they had planned on all going to an amusement park as a group. Nai was overjoyed to agree and, though it took a little convincing, Karoku soon gave his own consent.

It didn't seem to take very long to get to the three brother's apartment complex because all five of the boys were totally consumed by making plans for the next day. When they really did arrive, they got off as a group and walked, chatting happily, to the apartment.

Once inside, they all bustled about, taking shoes off, shedding coats, tossing book-bags onto the couch. Gareki and Nai practically leapt out of their shoes and coats before tearing down the hall and flying into Gareki's room. He had gotten a popular new video game not too long ago and had been saving it for when Nai came over. The two boys stayed shrieking joyfully and playing the game all the way up until dinner time.

The older teens sat at the dining room table talking and playing cards. After a bit, Yogi got up to make dinner. Silver, out of habit, followed him and lifted himself up onto the counter, while Karoku asked if he could help.

Yogi set his friend to work cutting the vegetables for the curry he was planning on making. Silver tended to accidentally attempt to burn the house down whenever he helped in the kitchen, so he assisted by staying out of the way.

It took about an hour for Yogi and Karoku to finish dinner and when they did Yogi told Silver to go get the two younger boys. They ate dinner all laughing and talking together and afterward they decided to pick out a movie to watch.

They picked some action flick they all wanted to see and had a great time cheering on the good guys. After the movie, Yogi told Nai and Gareki to get ready for bed while he and Silver did the dishes.

When the boys were all tucked in, the older boys got themselves ready for bed and figured out sleeping arrangements. They decided that Karoku would stay with Silver in the twin's room and Yogi would sleep on the living room couch so in the morning he could get up early and make breakfast without waking anyone up.

Everyone but Gareki slept peacefully that night. He thrashed wildly in his bed for a while, gripped with a terrifying nightmare, before jolting out of bed and running to find Yogi. He always went to Yogi after having a nightmare.

"Nii-chan!" The little boy shook his big brother awake, tears still running down his face, "I had a scary dream, Nii-chan."

Yogi started awake at the sound of his little one's fear, saying, "A scary dream?" He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before lifting Gareki onto his lap. He hugged the boy tightly and lay back down, the boy lying on his chest, "What was the scary dream about, Gareki-kun?"

Gareki hiccupped and snuggled into the safe, warm hold, "I-it was about a lotta different things. There were these really scary monsters that looked like blobs of ink, but they ate humans. You and I were in it. We fought the scary monsters. So did a bunch of other people. Everyone looked really cool and had awesome powers…but in the end you had to kill me because I had turned into one of the bad monsters too. You were really sad and you cried a lot…" he trailed off and lifted his head to give his big brother a sad, frightened look, "It was just a dream, right, Nii-chan? That kinda thing isn't real, is it?"

The blonde smiled at his brother and shifted him up so he was laying a little closer to Yogi's face, "It was just a dream, Gareki-kun," he smoothed a flyaway lock of hair and touched his forehead to Gareki's, "I will never hurt you, Gareki-kun. Not even if you became a monster, I would never ever, ever hurt you."

Gareki looked deep into Yogi's eyes, silently mulling over what he said. The dream had seemed so real and There was one thing he hadn't mentioned to his brother about what happened before he turned into a monster. The Yogi in his dream had also promised to never hurt him. He had loved Gareki. Saved Gareki.

He had been everything to Gareki. Yet Gareki still died by his hand.

Yogi saw the wheels in his little brother's head quickly spinning and realized there was more to the story than he was letting on. He smiled slightly and whispered, "Whatever it is you are thinking of, Gareki-kun, it was all just a dream. There are no such things as monsters or strange and incredible powers." He sat up a little and rested his hands on Gareki's back, "We…you, me, Silver, Nai, Karoku, everyone…we are all in the real world. This is reality. And you never have to be afraid of what isn't real, all right? I know that there are some odd things in this world, but there is nothing that will ever, or would ever, in this world, make me hurt you. Do you understand that?"

Gareki's eyes widened minutely. As always, Yogi had seen right through him. He probably should have been used to it at this point, but it still surprised him whenever the blonde read him like a book.

The dark-haired boy sighed with relief. The look in Yogi's eyes told him the blonde was telling the truth, so he grinned happily and flung his arms around his nii-chan's neck, saying, "I understand, Nii-chan!" He nuzzled into Yogi's safe grip and went on, "I love you."

Yogi smiled and hugged the boy close. He lay back onto the couch, figuring Gareki wouldn't feel like heading back to his own room, and said, "I love you too, Gareki-kun. I love you so much. Don't you ever forget that, all right?"

Gareki nodded sleepily, "All right, Nii-chan. G'night…" With that, he dropped off into a peaceful, nightmare free, slumber.

Just before falling asleep himself, Yogi stroked his little one's hair and kissed his forehead, "Good night, sweet little brother of mine."

 ** _The End_**

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 **Please leave a review~**

 **Ja ne!**

 **Love,**

 **VitameatavegaminGirl**


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